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backslashdelta · 7 months

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How To Gif: Glass Shatter Effect

By popular demand (ie, 7 people who voted in this poll), here is a tutorial on how to do the glass shatter effect I used to create the first gif in this set.

I use Photoshop CC 2015 (yes I know it's old) for my gifmaking, but you should be able to apply everything to newer versions of Photoshop. For this tutorial I'll be assuming you know the gifmaking basics, but if not, I would recommend this tutorial, which is the process I use to make gifs. Note that this particular process involves saving all of the frames, importing those frames into Photoshop, and then using an action to convert to a smart object.

Keep reading below the cut to learn how to do this effect!

Before I could start making this gif, I needed three things; the two scenes that I wanted to use, and a video of the glass shattering effect. I already knew the scenes I wanted, so then I took to YouTube to find a video which I can't for the life of me find again, but it looked like this:

Something like this is what you want. Ideally the green part would be entirely white, but as long as there are two clearly different colours you can usually work with it.

This looks a lot slower than the gif that I made, but that's not because of the frame rate - which is exactly the same above as in the final gif - it's just because there are extra frames in this slower one that I cut out. In the video I used, the glass shattering happened very slowly. I didn't want that, so I ended up skipping several frames when I loaded the frames into Photoshop before using my gifmaking action. I just did this by manually selecting one frame, skipping the next several before selecting another frame, and repeating this until I had selected 60 frames.

After using my gif action, I had a smart object of the glass shatter effect that looked like this:

That's a much better speed! It still wasn't quite where I needed it to be though. I needed this in black and white, so I slapped a hue/saturation adjustment on the smart object and set the saturation all the way down to -100.

Okay great, I could start putting the gif together now.

First, I made a copy of the glass shatter smart object, because I'll need that later. Then, I pulled in frames from the scene that I wanted to appear in the hole after the glass shatters, and I used those to create a new smart object with my gif action (we'll call it Scene-bg). I pulled Scene-bg into the same window as the glass shatter objects. Then I created a new smart object by combining one of the glass shatter objects with Scene-bg, which I did by selecting both layers right clicking, and selecting "Convert to Smart Object".

I renamed this smart object to Shatter-fg. I opened it by clicking on the little icon next to the layer name in the layers window here:

The most important thing here is that the shatter effect object should be the top layer, and I set the mode to "lighten". This will make sure that the lightest colour of either this layer and the layer behind it is displayed; that means that anywhere that's white in our shatter animation will still show up, but anywhere that's black we'll see what's in the layer(s) behind it.

Then I threw some adjustment layers between them to get the colouring I wanted. I used a curves layer, a hue/saturation layer, and I also added text with an outer glow layer effect. Here's what the layer order looked like and the settings I used for each layer:

After this process, Shatter-fg looked like this:

Okay nice, this is starting to look like something! I saved this and went back to the main file with the other glass shatter object.

I needed to invert that other glass shatter object. There's a weird quirk with the version of Photoshop that I use where it doesn't like it when I apply specifically an invert adjustment to a smart object (it appears correctly when editing, but not on export) so I did this by creating a new smart object which included a separate invert layer, but if you have a newer version of Photoshop you can probably just apply the invert adjustment directly. Just note that you'll need to do one of these options; it won't work if you add a separate adjustment layer in the main file, it needs to be applied specifically to the smart object (which we'll now be calling Shatter-bg). It looked like this after I inverted it:

Once that's done, I made sure Shatter-fg was the layer directly above Shatter-bg, and set the mode of Shatter-fg to "darken" and Shatter-bg to "lighten". Since Shatter-fg is set to darken, it will be visible only when it is darker than the layer behind it. By setting Shatter-bg to lighten, I've guaranteed that the layer behind it will always be lighter (ie, white) in the places we want Shatter-fg to be visible, and will be black otherwise. Once I update those settings, this is what the gif looked like:

This is all there is to the glass shatter effect itself. Next I pulled in frames from the second scene to fill in the black areas. This layer needed to go below both glass shatter layers, so that it only shows through where the black. Then I added adjustment layers and some text. I used curves, hue/saturation, and vibrance adjustment layers, and I also added the "archer" text below the glass shatter layers so that it would be hidden to reveal the "prey" text. The other text I added above all of the layers, since I wanted this to be visible all the time. Here is the layer order and all of the settings I used for each of the layers:

I also grouped Shatter-bg and Shatter-fg and shifted them on the timeline so there would be some time to see the background gif before the shatter effect starts.

And that's all! Then it''s just a matter of exporting the finished product:

This is the first gifmaking tutorial I've ever made, so I hope I was able to be reasonably coherent and helpful! I'd love to hear if you make anything by following these steps, or even if you just feel like you've learned something reading through this. And if you have any outstanding questions, feel free to reply or send me an ask and I'd be happy to answer!

#gifmaking #tutorials #gifmaking tutorial #gif tutorial #photoshop #photoshop tutorial #usergif #gleesource #my tutorials #mine #how to gif #tw mark salling #mark salling tw #not tagging as glee because it's not actually about that but wanted the tw tags just in case #this was so much more effort to put together than I thought it would be lmao #I was like oh yeah I've already made the whole gif I just need to go back and explain how I did that...#it took A WHILE #anywayyyy it was fun though so I'm glad I did it #would love to know if anyone finds this helpful or interesting or tries out the effect or something similar!#you can also just grab the black/white gif I included above if you want to do the effect since I can't find the video... sorry lol #but yeah you have my permission to steal the black/white gifs for gifmaking purposes if you would like #just don't like. post your own tutorial claiming you made it or something?? but like you don't need to credit me or anything obviously.#ANYWAYYYY #I feel like... a LITTLE pretentious thinking I'm good enough at making gifs to be qualified to make a tutorial #but like it's fineeee everything is fine #gonna finally post this now enjoy byeeee

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mommyhot3lbows · 10 months

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living the delusional life: episode 1: how i would plan our MGP ⭐

truth to be told yes i am still jealous towards other batch that got to have their mgp and all of this couldn't be done due to stupid COVID-19. robbed our high school life forever ngl. like wdym i don't get to have a special prom night after 5-6 years going through hell? and the worse part is the school literally just ignored our batch after what we've contributed to the school. like girl are you serious rn....... anyways this post is basically me relieving my stress so i started organising and making up shit in my head to cope. pls bare with me.

time

the way i imagined who it's going to be done is when all of us were done with our degree and internships (and other names so to speak for other courses) and after all people that are studying abroad to be done and come back to Malaysia.

yes, we're going to be super old but i think it somehow made it better because it's like a reunion which we never had and we're going there by that time most of us have already have our own money and car and shit, so its going to be easier.

place

i was thinking somewhere big, like a big hall or ballroom which looks super fancy. like really nice venues. also i feel like the hotel or place need to be near to the accommodation nearby like lrt and such, to make it easier to get there and stuff. and the hotel doesn't have to be super fancy or what not, it's like you know, like a decent hotel like how you expected a normal room should be? yes, that's the vision.

food

honestly i feel like a serve-on-the-table kind of thing should be the way for dinners, but idk i feel like its somehow better if its like a buffet? where you can take whatever and how many things you'd like. considering we're going to be wearing like dresses and look hot and etc, i don't think we'll be eating much.

at least that's what it is for me, because i never enjoyed formal dinners because i used to handle something at the same time so i never got to enjoy it fully. oh well that's kinda sad LOL. like seriously, i mostly took pictures at the end of the day and eat leftovers from food and drinks that most people have already finished and such. kinda sucked, but yeah, it is what it is i guess.

also the menu should be like not too heavy, i feel like western should be nice but idk malay cuisines should be there too. but if malay food are there it would be like a kenduri fgs lmao....... maybe we should just have both choices. OH AND THE DESSERT NEED TO BE SOMETHING LIKE EITHER SUPER SWEET OR JUST NICE.

dessert i was thinking maybe something like chewy cookies and brownies... cakes are so idk, its like meh... or like a dessert cup, where there's like some cream and maybe some brownies or what not along with some fruits like berries or bananas... it should balance out the sweetness of everything imo.

goodie bags

i remember doing a poll and most of us voted for having the goodie bags as like those brown aesthetic boxes, filled with those paper stuff. and in there wil be like jewelleries or like a necklace or a bracelet with calista's name on it. also maybe some sea salt choc chip cookies in there, some pastries as well. we never really eat candies anymore these days.

oh and maybe like a shawl or shirt or like a tote bag, basically just something calista based. it would be pretty cool to do so.

additional stuff

it would be cool af if there's like a polaroid service, where anybody can just take how many pictures they want and etc but we pay the service provider per hour. i think those type of services exist....

PHOTOBOOTH. VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT.

games

it would be boring asf without games. i imagined this to be literally just us, without teachers, or parents or kids, literally us. we can act and be how we act normally without caring what other people is thinking.

some of the ideas i had for games are like those typical sleepover games, but we turned it into like a big one for the whole crowd. i think its going to be pretty cool. or maybe like a game related to what we used to be back in hs, so maybe incorporated something from that. like guessing what house they're from (since we'll not remember most people's houses lmao), it sounds tacky and cringe but idk.

theme

something elegant. plain b&w would be dull af. elegant might be the theme for it. instead of colours, we pick the vibe we're into. like formal-elegant-hot-people type of elegant. like old money, and shit. it would be pretty cool to see each and everyone's dresses and outfits.

no rules ofc. this ain't the hs no more (thankfully).

#hot3lbows rants 🌿

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unseenentropy · 10 months

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Not just for XR6’s & XR8’s our club is for FTE, Tickford & FPV vehicles as well

Our club offers an environment for like minded people who have a common interest around our Ford Falcon vehicles. Whether you are a die hard car nut, or simply enjoy turning the key and driving while being in the company of like minded people who share a common interest in our type of cars you will find our club to be of interest to you. We have a good mix of cars in the club from 1991 EB’s up to the latest FG-X models. Join us if you want to share the passion you have in your vehicle with people who own the same types of cars. If you need to know something about your vehicle there will be someone in the club who can help you out or point you in the right direction. We encourage partners to be involved with the club as well.

Our club members enjoy the benefits of genuine discounts with our range sponsors.

Our members are typically of the more mature vintage with a good mix of males and females, families, singles, retirees, from all walks of life including truck drivers, accountants and small business owners among others.

You can speak with one of the committee members if you have an idea for an event so we can look at making it happen. Our annual general meeting is held in August and we encourage you to participate by voting for the nominees for the committee which keep the club going. If you are really keen and have particular skill set suitable you may want to nominate to join the committee to keep the club going strong into the future.

What do I get for my membership fee? Your annual club fees enable the club to maintain our website, update our promotional material such as club flags and marquees, maintain our club trailer, cover our public liability insurance, government fees, meeting space rental, and maintain our financial management system. We also subsidize some costs for members at nominated events from time to time

As a club member you are encouraged to participate by attending events as much or as little as you want without prejudice. When attending certain events we do ask that you assist in the setup and pull down of club displays whether it is putting up a marquee, putting the flags out or hanging a sponsors banner please join in to assist.We are an incorporated association in Queensland, operating under the articles of association and governed by the office of fair trading and as such we have club by laws and a constitution in place to assist the committee and members in the running of our club. What this means is we have legal responsibilities that we must follow to ensure the best interests of the membership are being taken care of.

The XR6 XR8 Club QLD supports safe driving and compliance with road traffic laws and accepts no responsibility for any unlawful actions by members or their guests. As a club when we travel or we are at events sensible non illegal behavior on and off the road is paramount to our public image and reputation of the club, its members and sponsors.

If we are participating in track or motorsport type events be aware that neither yours or our club insurance will cover you for any damage done or caused by you or others in the case of an incident involving you. Track events are to be entered as “at your own risk”

We offer a range of events throughout the year at different venues and destinations some of which have limited facilities suitable to everyone’s capabilities and fitness levels. When planning events we do take this into consideration to try and meet everyone’s needs but this always may not be the case. Members need to satisfy themselves that the event is suitable for them before attending.

*The club is unable to provide cars for weddings or formals

Cruises:

We endeavor to conduct at least one cruise per month. These take the form of drives conducted on picturesque roads and normally include a picnic in a park for lunch. We also conduct weekend cruises throughout the year. These include an overnight stay on the Saturday night which is always a great social affair with all of us staying in the same motels and dining together at a local pub or club. If you have an idea for an event have a chat with one of the committee members.

Car Shows:

We have a few set car shows that we enter as a club every year such as the All Ford Day and QLD Auto Spectacular as well as other car shows that pop up from time to time. These are a chance to shine up our vehicles and show them off to the public.

Motor Sports:

What is the point of owning these types of cars if you can’t drive them as they were meant to? Well that is the question a lot of our clubbies asked so we also cater for them as well with track days two or three times a year at Lakeside (public events)

Supercars:

Sadly the Ipswich round is no more but we have attended Townsville, Newcastle and Bathurst as a club event in recent years and will in the future depending on member participation. (these are always a great few days away)

Club merchandise:

The club has a great range of merchandise available for members and their families to purchase. Shirts, jackets, caps and stickers we have got you covered.

Sponsors:

The club is proud to have a wide variety of sponsors who are a dedicated group of businesses that offer genuine discounts to club members or product support on a range of products and services.

#xrclub

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hardynwa · 1 year

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Zamfara governor accuses FG in using military to rig election in favour of PDP

The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has accused the federal government of militarising the 18 March gubernatorial and state assembly elections in the state to punish him for challenging its new naira policy in court. Mr Matawalle and his counterparts from Kano and Kaduna, Abdullahi Ganduje and Nasir El Rufai filed a suit challenging the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Supreme Court over its new naira policy. The three governors are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Matawalle lost his re-election bid to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dauda Lawal. Mr Lawal polled 377,726 votes to defeat Mr Matawalle, who got 311,976 votes. The APC candidate in Kano also lost the governorship election but the party’s candidate won in Kaduna. But in a nine minutes interview with the DW Hausa, the governor said he was warned that the election might not go his way for his actions. He said over 300 truckload of soldiers were sent to the state in the eve of election with over 50 soldiers sent to strategic polling units to intimidate voters against voting for APC. “We’ve security challenges in Zamfara state and we’ve been asking them to send soldiers to us but they didn’t. But three days to the election (gubernatorial) they sent over 300 vehicles conveying soldiers into Zamfara. Such a high number of soldiers, if they could send them to us to fight insecurity it would be better. But they only sent them during elections. “And I tell you, they were over fifty soldiers in our polling units in Zamfara. They (soldiers) were even straight about it that those voting for APC would not be allowed to vote. People were harrassed and beat because they wanted to vote for APC. We all have this evidence on video. When we called soldiers to come to our aid, they didn’t come. But I’ve left everything to God,” he said. When asked if there was any reason for the militarisation of the election in the state, Mr Matawalle said he had intelligence report that the soldiers were sent to rig the election. “When I saw that (the soldiers being sent) I knew they were up to something. That was why it didn’t bother me. Because I received intelligence report on what they were going to do against me. Not only myself but other governors that did something that is considered wrong….. Yes, what’s being said is that we went to the court (Supreme Court) over new naira notes redesign. They said myself, Ganduje and El Rufai would be punished accordingly,” he said. When he was asked why APC won the state during the presidential election but failed to reflect so in the gubernatorial, Mr Matawalle said he was happy that Bola Tinubu, the president elect, won the state with a landslide. On whether he would go to court over the “irregularities”, Mr Matawalle said he has left it to the party to decide and he would respect whatever decision the party take on whether or not to go to court. Read the full article

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janedoe-ing · 1 year

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living the delusional life: how i would plan the MGP ⭐

time

place

food

goodie bags

oh and maybe like a shawl or shirt or like a tote bag, basically just something calista based. it would be pretty cool to do so.

additional stuff

PHOTOBOOTH. VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT.

games

theme

no rules ofc. this ain't the hs no more (thankfully).

0 notes

voicetonki · 2 years

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Thanks Jain Wallet dont worry about it man,it wasnt a big deal i just didnt want anyone to think i were lying about anything,The crash i've had were due to the global.iff i've tested with a few now and they all seem to crash upon going to player of the game at the end of the game,when a game is finished the player of the game plays out fine but when you go to it manually at the end of game menu it seems to crash to the desktop i asked if anyone was having the same problem a few post back.So i've tested the original global.iff and it seems to work now.I'll continue to work on some other things and get an update soon as i can but for now im just seeing if the game modes have any problems.I have tested out the dribbling and it seems to work fine for me so far but i'll keep working on that as well.A lot of archives i've messed with are really hard to open some open pretty well some have encrypted tadata and cant be open as of yet but i've been working day in and day out trying to get them open i just havent found a way but just have patience with me guys im really trying to bring this back to life and bring some fun to it!Thanks for supporting me thus far.Well im back guys with some updated information again,So what i were thinking was some of the stats etc arent realistic enough for me so i did some editing using the players real shot analysis take a look here after i done my Gary Harris comepare the charts please!!The purpose is to have the most realistic gameplay rookies play like actual rookies not stars so they will have room to grow during dynasty modes For instance, the names such as Joel Embiid and Marcus Smart cannot be pronounced in NBA 2k14 since the audio file for these names are missing, but in NBA2K15 the commentators can pronounce every current NBA player name. The developers of the game NBA 2K14 have made sure that the game is updated regularly so that the gamers have a better gaming experience. This mod for NBA 2K14 PC replaces the default 2K scoreboard with next-gen style scoreboard.

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 years

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fairy gala rerun soon~

PspspsppspPspspapspspspapspspspsssspspspsppspspspsp Who do y’all think will be the new FG cards 👀 (and who do you want to see in FG clothes, even if the chances of them being an actual card is pretty low)????

I’m biased so of course my votes for who I want to see go to J word and Rook, but I think it would be more realistic to give the new FG cards to characters that are already somewhat involved in the event’s story. Following that logic, this would probably mean Vil will get a card (since he teaches the current FG boys how to work the run way, maybe they’ll add a scene where Vil dresses up and demonstrates for them).

Other popular guesses I’ve seen floating around are the various members of Diasomnia (since FG is an event centered around other fairies) 🤔 I think it would make for an interesting dynamic if a Diasomnia student joins in with a card, just because that could give us a lot of lore (on the world, on the characters, or on fairies in general in Twisted Wonderland). Like... How would Silver and Sebek, who are human and half fae respectively, respond in this kind of situation? How do Lilia and Malleus get along with other kinds of fairies, especially ones that exist outside of the jurisdictions of the Briar Valley?

Another popular prediction seems to be a Crewel-sensei card! I actually think that TWST would save staff cards for something more grand (like maybe a staff-centric event or something more special like anniversary with the Grim cards); I don’t think they would randomly drop a Crewel card for an event rerun and then peace out (but if it does happen, I think that’d be really strange timing on TWST’s part).

... Or who knows, maybe TWST will completely void all logic and give FG cards to random boys we never expected at all 😂

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honeymoonjin · 3 years

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ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ot7 x reader || ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 5.9k || ɢᴇɴʀᴇ: smut - rated 18+

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ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: cursing, panic attack

A/N: apologies for my tgm crimes here but i gotta keep you on your toes since you have the old plan. also i'm not going to spoil anything but day 25 has one of my fav scenes in the show so far ;;-; so please enjoy this chapter and i will continue to work hard to finish the following one and get back into the posting routine!

DAY TWENTY-FOUR

You’re roused from sleep by the feathered sensation of fingertips on your jaw. Twitching slightly, you try and move away from it, burrowing deeper into the warm, gently rocking pillow your head is propped up on.

Before you can slip back under, however, the fingers give one last attack: a sudden flick to your cheek that echoes with a thwack. You flinch and furrow your brows, grumbling your displeasure since your words haven’t quite found you yet.

“Get up, sleepyhead, unless you’d rather I just piss in the bed.”

That’ll do it. You shoot up so quickly your vision swims, one side of your face feeling cold without the comfort of Yoongi’s chest. “Fuck you, go pee,” you slur, eyes still half-closed, the morning glare peeking through a gap in his curtains.

Yoongi happily but hurriedly trots off to the bathroom, giving you a moment of respite to collect yourself. It takes a few moments to recall the previous night, not just the way Yoongi’s voice had made you cum in your room, but also the way it later lulled you to sleep as he told you hushed stories of his childhood or anecdotes from his days as a sex education teacher.

You can even hear his voice now, just barely slipping under the crack of the door, humming and singing under his breath as he washes his hands.

When he finally exits, you’re propped up by pillows, duvet tucked over your knees and eyes crinkled fondly at his bedhead.

“Oh, no,” he starts with a frown, “you better get that look off of your face.”

Your smile drops. “What?”

Taming his hair with a few flat strokes, he shakes his head. “I need somebody sane in this house to talk to. You aren’t allowed to fall in love with me, it’s conflict of interest.”

Mouth dropping open, it takes you a few minutes to note the subtle curl to his lips. “You dick! I’m certainly not planning on it, don’t flatter yourself.”

“Hey,” he defends in a drawl, no attempt at modesty as he shucks his pyjamas before browsing his chest of drawers, “it’s been done before. You come for the massive dick and stay for the massive heart.” He pauses, shoulder muscles flexing as he reaches in to a drawer, pulling out a pair of dark wash jeans. “Stop looking at my ass, I’m trying to lecture you.”

On the contrary, you lower your gaze and narrow in on it. “You’re starting to develop a little bubble butt, Yoongi. It’s very cute.” Not leaving him time to protest, you barrel on. “Besides, your dick isn’t that big.”

“That’s only because you’re comparing mine to hyung’s. And Namjoon’s. And… And Jungkook’s, I guess. And-” Suddenly he cuts himself off, throwing himself back on the bed with his back hunched in despair. “Fuck, do I have a small dick?”

“Mm, not really,” you dismiss easily, deciding to finally get out of bed and pick out your own clothes - selecting them from Yoongi’s drawers, of course. He makes no protest, still staring blankly at the jeans in his hands. “You just have steep competition here. There’s nothing wrong with small dicks, either. They’re cute.”

Now visible from your angle, Yoongi’s face twists in a grimace. “But my dick isn’t small, right?”

You shrug, slipping on one of his FG shirts and a pair of sweatpants loose enough that you have to knot the drawstrings. “If it helps you sleep at night.”

He spares one somber glance down between his legs before he slips on a pair of underwear, finally stepping into the jeans. There’s a brief period of comfortable silence, before he lets out a small sigh. “Can I… Can I confess something to you?”

Although a quip would be easy enough to say, you sense the joking is over. “Of course, Yoongi,” you assure instead, sitting cross-legged on the unmade bed beside him. He doesn’t meet your eye, busying himself with slipping a shirt over his head. “What’s up?”

Once he’s fully dressed, he still keeps his eyes low. “When you- On Monday, when you voted out Jin-hyung. I was so glad.”

You pause for a moment. “Because you wanted him out of the competition?” you venture, but he shakes his head dully.

“Because I thought he might look at me again if he didn’t have you.”

Something sinks in your stomach, cold enough to make you shiver. The guilt in Yoongi’s voice doesn’t conceal the open vulnerability of his expression as he fiddles with his bitten fingernails. “What do you mean, Yoongi?”

“What him and I had earlier wasn’t healthy, I know that,” he defends to himself, “but… I still miss it. I miss him. But even when I spoke to him after the elimination, all he would talk about was you. And I can’t even be mad, because I get it. And I- If I’m honest,” he murmurs, feet scuffing restlessly on the carpet, “I don’t even know what I’m wanting to achieve by telling you this, but I couldn’t stand not having anybody know about it. I never wanted it to get this messy. I told myself I wouldn’t let my feelings get caught up. But I think a little heartbreak would be worth it, for him. Is that stupid?”

You feel so unanchored, like there’s nothing for you to grab onto to steady yourself. More so, you feel entirely incapable of helping your friend like you so desperately want to. “It’s not stupid,” you begin, reaching out to cup one of his hands snugly between the two of yours, head resting on his shoulder in solidarity, “and I’m so sorry. Does he- does he know you feel this way?”

“I don’t think so,” Yoongi admits in a low voice, leaning into your touch. “If he does, then he must not like me since he’s not acknowledging it. And if he doesn’t, then he must have never even considered me like that. I know I was a distraction at best.”

You knit your brows together, deep in thought to try and find the right words to say. “Or perhaps he knows and he’s respecting your boundaries by letting you initiate, especially since he was the one who took advantage of you last time. And perhaps he doesn’t know, and it’s only because he’s so caught up in his own feelings that he hasn’t considered that you may feel the same. You just don’t know these things, Yoongi. I didn’t know how you felt either until you told me.”

He nods slowly, jerkily. “Yeah,” he says weakly. “Jungkook said almost the exact same thing, actually.”

You pull back slowly, curiosity colouring your tone. “Jungkook?”

Yoongi manages a shy smile, cheeks colouring slightly. “He approached me. We- we talk a lot, way more than hyung and I ever did. I know Kookie has a crush on me, and we said we’d take things slow, but dammit, I can’t help but like the kid.”

You let a surprised laugh bubble up your throat. “That- I was not expecting that, but I’m so glad, Yoongi. Even if you don’t have Jin, I’m glad you’re letting yourself be happy with others.”

His smile falters. “Is it greedy that liking Jungkook doesn’t make me want Jin-hyung any less?”

You go still, thinking of your own blooming feelings for... Well, for most of the people in this house, if not - at least a little bit - all of them. “I don’t know,” you answer honestly. “I’d like to think not.”

Yoongi lifts his gaze to you, carefully studying your face. “Do you ever worry,” he begins, so softly that you have to strain to make the words out, “that our feelings have been set up. By the show, I mean.” His brows furrow deeper. “We’re living in a practical paradise - luxurious house with no real jobs, our food is paid for, we’re literally getting rewarded to have sex. It’s so artificial, you know? So who’s to say that our feelings are artificial, too? I- I’ve been thinking about that a lot,” he admits with a pensive stare.

You can’t lie. You nod. “I’d like to think not,” you repeat hollowly, “but… I mean, yeah, this feels like some alternate reality, and thinking of any of you in normal, mundane, real-life scenarios seems so strange. Like, can you picture Hoseok sitting down and doing his taxes?”

Yoongi snorts, shaking his head in bemusement as a line of tension eases from his shoulders. “I hope he hires an accountant. I certainly wouldn’t trust him with my money.”

You let out a deep sigh and fall backwards onto the duvet, air punched out of you on impact. “The thing is, Yoongi,” you declare in a matter-of-fact tone, “we have no way of knowing what life will be like once all this is wrapped up so why even bother worrying?”

He turns slightly, just enough to watch you warily over his shoulder. “Maybe because I could get my heart broken?”

You pout at him. “Tell me how that’s any different from developing a crush in real life?”

He opens his mouth, furrows his brows, and closes it again. “I- Ugh. Fuck you for being correct.”

Pleased with yourself, you hide your grin as you playfully knock his side with your foot, making him recoil with a groan. “Be as cautious or as impulsive as you want, but even if all this is fake, you could’ve just as easily developed those feelings outside of the show. Like come on, if you saw Jin in the grocery store don’t tell me you wouldn’t fall in love on sight!”

Yoongi shakes his head again, a wry smile playing at his lips. “I see your point… and now I’m picturing Jin getting groceries and looking hot doing it...wow.”

You cackle at the dazed look on Yoongi’s face, using his arm to pull yourself up off the bed, patting him on the shoulder. “Good talk, champ. I’m off to chow down on the leftover pork from last night. Care to join me?”

His eyes glitter, but the doctor declines. “Yoonji said she blackmailed one of the production team to bring her fried chicken from her favourite place. She’s hiding it in the bunk room, but you didn’t hear that from me. She’s selling some to me for a small fortune, the little devil.”

“Less than half a week here and she’s already set up a black market,” you muse, “I think I may be in love with her, Yoongi.”

“Don’t you dare.”

While the kitchen is empty when you first arrive, it only takes the sizzle of pork belly in a saucepan to draw your roommates down.

Jin is first, silently rummaging in the pantry and fridge for some side dishes to add to the mix. In return, you begin boiling some hot water, adding instant coffee mix to two mugs.

As the others join, the line of mugs and glasses on the kitchen island grows, until even the two Min twins are hovering in the kitchen, looking suspicously still hungry after their illicit breakfast.

There aren’t enough chairs at the table to seat you all, but luckily Taehyung and Jungkook are happy hunched over the bench in the kitchen, sharing a set of Airpods and snickering at a seemingly endless stream of TikToks.

At the table, Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi chow down on their meals, the latter with a considerably smaller portion made up mostly of meat. Yoonji and Jimin are on either side of you, with Jin on one end, chewing slow to savour each bite.

It’s the first time in a while that you’ve all shared breakfast at the same time, and you’re struck with a deep feeling of fondness at this little family-like group you’re living with. Jimin sneaks extra strips of meat or spoonfuls of rice into your bowl when he thinks you’re not looking; Hoseok listens enthusiastically to Namjoon’s explanation of a summer school course he’s taking, even as he has to ask for clarification just about every second sentence; Yoongi splits his time between checking up on the two maknaes with a soft look, and scowling at his sister’s teasing comments.

“Any plans for the day?” Yoonji asks suddenly, tugging you out of your musings. She’s dressed sleekly in a black velvet mock neck shirt and high waisted denim shorts, her face as stark a resemblance to her brother as ever, with two sharp lines of black on her lids being the only visible makeup. “Except, I suppose, the mandatory fucking.”

You huff with pink cheeks, never growing used to hearing it so openly. “The days kinda blur together a little when you have no real responsibilities,” you admit, “I should probably find a hobby or something.”

Yoonji’s eyes crinkle in faux empathy. “Oh, honey, you’re gonna be so out of it when you return to the real world. You all will,” she adds, before shrugging, “except maybe Namjoon. Seems like academia doesn’t stop for anyone.”

You can’t help but agree. “He has more brain cells in his pinky finger than I do in my own body,” you swear, “he could break an arm and still type a thesis one-handed.”

Halfway through a mouthful of food, you’re rewarded to the ungraceful yet endlessly endearing sound of her snorting, a hand cupped over her mouth. After swallowing, she turns towards you to respond. “I haven’t known him for long, but that seems to check out. He’s quite the character, huh?”

You don’t miss the meaningful lilt to her voice, nor the quirk of a sharp brow. “He’s a good guy,” you reply under your breath, gaze darting down the table to where the man himself is engaged in an intensely enthusiastic discussion (okay, closer to a TedTalk) with Hoseok, now using pieces of meat to create an abstract diagram in his otherwise empty bowl. The latter looks bewildered, but is nonetheless paying deep attention to every word.

It’s impossible not to feel soft inside as you look at the pair of them, all complementary contrast. Hoseok with his slender nose and harsh facial structure and Namjoon with a round, gentle face. One of them dressed in sleek black and the other in oversized earth tones, the typically reserved one animated and the bubbly one focused in. It had taken you barely a month of shared living to become completely fond of these men, not just Namjoon and Hoseok but all of them, and as much as it was nice to have someone new in the Villa for a while, Yoonji’s presence makes you more aware of the fact that you and the seven guys had developed a certain equilibrium that seemed slightly off-balance with the change.

It makes you worry about what other disturbances this delicate system could hold, and if returning to the real world would be a shift large enough to permanently upend it.

Wishing to dispel the pessimistic narrative beginning to form, you focus in on Yoonji again. “Anyways,” you start, “how are you finding the Villa so far?”

“Certainly an interesting look behind the veil, though it’s really not ideal having to-” Yoonji’s cut off by the chirp of an incoming message on her phone. “Sorry, one sec,” she mumbles absentmindedly, but you don’t miss the way her face falls when she reads the message, immediately glancing directly across the table to where her brother sits.

To your growing concern, Yoongi is also reading a message on his phone, and he quietly excuses himself from the table, leaving his bowl half-eaten. He jerks his head towards the front door, and Yoonji manages a quick apology before they’re leaving the room.

All startled out of their separate conversations, the remaining members of the household sit in confused silence, enough that even Taehyung and Jungkook turn around from their phones.

“What’s going on?” Jungkook asks in a worried voice. “Where’s Yoongi-hyung?”

Nobody replies, Jin just shaking his head with a grim frown and leaving the table himself, going after them.

“Guys,” Taehyung says more insistently, eyes not leaving the empty seats at the table.

“They both got a text,” you say with furrowed brows, “Yoongi and Yoonji. Must’ve been bad news, judging by their faces.”

“Jin-hyung’ll find out what’s going on,” Namjoon assures, though it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself, “let’s just clean up for them and wait for an update. Yeah?”

The two youngest nod solemnly, still with a single Airpod each bobbing in their opposite ears.

For a while, the group of you remaining sit in silence, as if caught up in some spell that would only be broken once Jin returned with some answers. The absence of Yoongi at the table is so much more pronounced, and you can’t help but feel the sickening worry swirl inside you when you look at his bowl, chopsticks strewn carelessly beside it.

Everyone is just waiting for bad news. You’ve felt this looming dread before, and it either came with a swoop of relief or a blow of despair. Your teeth find your thumbnail as you wait helplessly to see which one it’ll be.

It feels like an eternity before the door finally opens, making everyone jump, but only a few minutes have really passed. Jin is panting slightly, like he ran back from wherever Yoongi disappeared to.

“He’s-” he starts quickly, before a tremor passes over his face and he grimaces, jogging over and falling heavily into his chair at the table, face in his hands. “Their dad is in hospital. Heart attack.”

“Oh my god,” Namjoon breathes, brows knit together in sympathy. “Is he okay? Was it serious?”

Jin shrugs, looking up enough to run his hand over his face and take a shaky breath. “He’s alright for now, but apparently they need to make sure it doesn’t repeat anytime soon. If he settles, he’ll be fine, but there’s a chance that he might suffer another attack. Yoongi and Yoonji are going to the hospital now to stay with him until they’re more certain he’s stable. Just in case.”

“When is he coming back? Yoongi-hyung?” Jungkook’s eyes are wide, shiny. He can’t stop fiddling with his fingers, self-soothing.

“Not for a while, I don’t think,” Jin divulges with a pained expression. “He needs to be there for his family right now. That’s all I know, I’m sorry.”

The front door creaks, and all of you instinctively whip your heads towards it, as if Yoongi himself might be returning already, but you’re greeted with the weary face of Producer Sejin, joining you at the table, taking Yoongi’s old spot. Taehyung frowns deeply at the choice, turning his face away.

“What’s going on?” you ask quickly. “What happens to Yoongi? And us?”

“Yoongi is… He was in a rush to get going, understandably, so we didn’t speak in great depth. But he in short stated that he’d return when his father was in better health if the place was still open for him. I’ve got in contact with the higher-ups, and we’ve agreed to put the show on a temporary hold.”

“On hold?” Jungkook asks in a nervous voice. “What does that even mean?”

Sejin clears his throat stiffly and clicks his tongue. “Well. It means we’re putting a stop to the game for now, in short. If Yoongi is able to return by the end of the week, we’ll resume as usual. Otherwise, we’ll consider him to have permanently left the competition, and we’ll be forced to continue the game without him.”

You frown, fighting the urge to cry. This all feels so wrong, like he’s been taken from you with little hope of reunion, and discussing it like administration feels so clinical. “So we’re just sitting here, not knowing if he’s going to come back home, waiting around in limbo?” As soon as you finish, it feels like the word home lingers in the air longer than the rest of them. And perhaps this house doesn’t feel like home to you, but it certainly seems like six of the seven pieces of home are around you right now, and it’s not the same without him away. By the way the others are solemn and red-eyed, you probably aren’t the only one that’s begun feeling that way.

Sejin just shakes his head slowly, as subdued as you all are. “Listen, I know this isn’t ideal. The boss wanted to film it, make a big drama out of it, and then kick him off the show for views. I’m doing the best I can here to compromise and give him some dignity.”

Eyes widening, you stare at the round eyes of the cameras in the living room. “Are you- are you even allowed to say that?”

“I cut the camera feeds,” Sejin says in a defeated tone, “the show is officially off-air for technical difficulties. You can do what you want here while you wait - hell, you can leave if you want, just please be prepared to come back on the Sunday. We’ll have a discussion about whether Yoongi can return, and what we’ll do if he doesn’t. Understood?”

“Understood,” Namjoon offers up for the group, and the producer leaves with another sigh and an attempt at a comforting smile. You can’t help but feel bad for him, working such an emotionally draining job, especially when you’ve heard nothing but bad things about his employer.

Once the room falls into quiet again, Jin stands up, chair legs scraping against the floor. “Okay, I think we should decide as a group what we’re wanting to do. Stay or go?”

You open your mouth to give your two cents, but before you can, Jungkook suddenly chokes on a sob and covers his face with his hands, Jimin immediately scooting his chair closer to wrap an arm around his shaking shoulders.

“Hey, what is it?” Jimin asks quietly, but the room is so silent that you all catch it. “Talk to me, bun. What is it?”

Jungkook takes a few stuttering breaths to compose himself, sniffling. “I don’t want you all to leave too,” he confesses, Jimin’s thumb catching a tear dangling on the tip of his nose, “isn’t Yoongi-hyung enough?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” the elder promises, pressing a kiss into his hairline before looking up at the rest of you, eyes widening intentionally. “We’ll stick together through this until he comes back, yeah? It’s not all bad. The cameras are off, remember? We can have a break now, we don’t need to worry about the show. Isn’t that nice?”

After a moment’s considering, Jungkook nods slowly. “‘t is nice,” he admits begrudgingly. “But only if everyone stays.”

You can’t help but smile fondly, getting up yourself to come behind him, stroking his hair back. “We’ll stay, of course we’ll stay. Let’s spend some time together tonight, we can put on a movie and snuggle, how about that?”

He perks up at the thought of this, glancing around the table as the others nod in affirmation. “I’ll bring down the blankets,” he bargains, cracking a small smile, and the rest of the room relaxes, immediately bursting into sound as everyone arranges the necessary supplies for a good quality movie night, almost back to normal.

Jungkook, as the member of the Villa in most urgent need of a pick-me-up, is given movie choosing privileges, so the seven of you tuck in for a rewatch of his favourite Spiderman movies, perhaps the only thing that can keep him glued to the screen.

At first, the absence feels overwhelming to you. Try as you might through the opening sequence, you can’t shake it. Your mind counts heads without thinking, keeps looking at the space on the couch where Yoongi liked to put his feet up. Even though you know it’s his father who is unwell, not him, there’s the sick swelling in your stomach that makes you feel like his departure is final, and shortly after the title card plays out, you’re quietly excusing yourself and stumbling to the back door, in desperate need of fresh air.

It’s cold outside, a brisk wind cutting through you. You barely make it around the corner out of sight before your legs buckle, and you let yourself fall into a pathetic crouch, your weight propped up against the side of the house as you try to suck the chilled air into your lungs.

The panic creeps up on you in swells, the irrational fear that Yoongi would leave the show and you’d never see him again and everything would fall apart suddenly feeling like a whole tsunami crashing against you. Your fingers claw at the exterior wall as you fall back onto your behind, unable to even keep yourself in a crouch.

More so than the intrusive thoughts, it’s the image of Yoongi’s face falling, of him rushing out of the house in frantic distress that replays in your mind and leaves you suffocating. He looked so scared, your calm, reliable Yoongi. He was like a pillar, but that news was a fell swoop he couldn’t stay strong against. Your heart burns for him, cramping and aching in your chest.

For a moment, you picture yourself staying out here, gasping for breath until the sun goes down. You feel alone, more than ever since coming here, and even as the thought spooks you, there’s no energy in your body to do anything about it.

Just as your breaths start to sound more like death rattles and you curl your face towards the ground, a warmth envelopes your back, arms circling your middle and lifting you up.

“Hey, breathe, breathe with me, Y/n. I’m here.”

You recognise the voice. You recognise the built torso holding you steady, but your mind isn’t putting the pieces together, and so you simply squeeze your eyes shut and allow yourself to be maneuvered around there are hands on your face and a deep voice instructing you to look at me. I’m here; look at me.

You crack your eyes open, body heaving with the effort it takes to get any oxygen in your lungs, but you’re met with the soulful brown eyes of Kim Namjoon, narrowed in concern.

His hands are warm despite the frigid air outside, and you let yourself melt into him, eyes sinking to watch his lips mouth instructions, demonstrating exaggerated breathing for you to follow.

You feel distinctly like you might vomit, but you force yourself to match his breaths. The shuddering in and stilted out aren’t as fluid as his, but slowly your heart doesn’t thud in your ears and your body doesn’t shake as violently.

You feel damp, sweating all over, and your whole body aches, but your hearing begins to properly tune in again, coherence creeping back. “Na-Namjoon,” you gasp, wishing you had the energy to grab his arms or hug him or something other than lying limp against the wall of the house.

“Shh, hey, don’t strain yourself. Take it easy. I’m here.” He’s crouching in front of you, eyes locked onto you as he continues to hold you steady, jaw kept aloft by his hands. “Keep breathing, and it’ll go away. It’s a panic attack, I’ve had my fair share. You’ll come right.”

Trusting him despite the persisting burn in your chest, you let him coach your breathing for several more minutes, the heightened air influx making your head go light and floaty.

Once a counted breath turns into a yawn of exhaustion, you know the worst has passed. It leaves you boneless, not a single ounce of power left in your muscles, but you can breathe again, and it’s all thanks to the man across from you.

“I’ve never had one before,” you manage, voice cracking, “not like that.”

Namjoon’s lips press together in sympathy, and he turns to prop himself against the side of the house beside you, letting you continue breathing independently. “Is it Yoongi-hyung?”

You nod weakly, and the academic hums in confirmation. “I used to get panic attacks a lot in university. I used to hate them, thought they meant I was weak. Like I couldn’t handle the pressure as much as I thought I could. But, you know, these days I just figure I’m only panicking because it means so much to me. And I don’t think that makes me weak at all. It just means I care. Don’t feel ashamed about this, Y/n. All it means is that you care about hyung a lot.”

All the breath in your lungs leaves you in one rush as you prop your head in your hands, knees tucked towards your chest. “Yeah.” You wish you had something more appreciative to say, but your mind is waterlogged, weighed down and not functioning.

Namjoon doesn’t seem to mind the curt response. “I care about him a lot too. He’s like the glue for us, isn’t he? I’m worried to fall apart without him here keeping us in line. But we survived before we knew him and we’ll survive now. What’s better is supporting each other and waiting to see how we can support Yoongi-hyung, too.”

“You’re right,” you admit with a heavy breath, wiggling your toes to will energy back into them. “We’ll be okay.”

Namjoon bends sideways to bump your shoulder warmly. “That’s the spirit. Now; I’m happy to stay out here as long as you need, but Jungkook was the first one to notice you had been gone for a while, and I think he’s probably getting concerned by now. If you’re up to it, I can give you a hand to get inside and join the others again. What do you reckon?”

You lean your head back against the wall, taking a moment to consider. “What movie is he putting on next?”

“He mentioned wanting to check out Paw Patrol on Netflix.”

“Let me die out here,” you plead weakly.

Namjoon laughs, the sound like comfort itself, and stands up, offering you a hand. “Come on, kitten, up we get.”

In the end, the Netflix viewings manage to distract you for the rest of the night. When your limbs are tangled together and snacks are flowing, it’s easy to tune out of reality a bit and focus on the television screen in the comfort of shared company. Jungkook clears space on the couch for you the second you return, and clings to you for hours, his chin on your shoulder. You don’t complain, feeling soothed by the physical closeness. But the hours pass, and when the majority of you can no longer hold in your yawns, Seokjin gets up to turn the lights back on and clean up.

“Let’s get some rest,” he decides, and it’s that return to the real world that immediately dampens the atmosphere again, the group of you turning solemn. You pause to pull out your phone, sending Yoongi a quick message of support, and that you all missed him already, but no reply comes.

Without words being spoken, the seven of you remaining find yourselves flocking together as you make your way up to bed. Jin flanks the maknae as Namjoon and Hoseok lean heavily into each other, the four of them disappearing into Jin’s room. You naturally fall into step with the remaining two men, Taehyung linking his arm into yours and holding you close all the way to Jimin’s room.

Somehow, the house is too quiet. Even though Yoongi wasn’t a particularly noisy housemate, his absence cloaks the air.

You have no energy to shower. Washing your face is as much as you can manage, and Taehyung is even more despairing than you are, slumped on the toilet seat as Jimin cleans his face for him.

The uncertainty is what makes your heart flutter on edge, unable to wind down, and you know from the restrained looks of fear and distress in the guys’ eyes that they feel the same. The show would be undoubtably ruined if Yoongi couldn’t return. But more important than that, Yoongi would be ruined if he lost his father so suddenly.

Knowing Yoongi is hurting makes you ache, and you cling to your lovers like they’re your anchors in a churning sea, tucking your face firmly into Taehyung’s shoulder. It soothes you a little to be pinned between them, but the three of you still lie awake as the minutes blink by agonisingly slow.

At some point, you must fall into a fitful sleep, because when a sudden noise fills the room, it rouses you aggressively, and you almost kick Jimin’s shin in the process. Grunting, the half-asleep man rubs his face and twists around, fumbling on the nightstand for the offending noise.

It’s Taehyung’s phone, vibrating against the wooden table, and once Jimin blinks twice at the glaring screen he gasps and yanks the charger out, sitting up in bed. “It’s hyung,” he declares in a voice more vulnerable than you’d ever heard from him before. “Wake Tae.”

You force yourself to dispel those last few wisps of sleep from your brain, and gently shake Taehyung awake. According to the clock on the nightstand, it’s almost two in the morning, but your heart leaps as Yoongi’s face fills the phone screen, looking right at the three of you.

“I thought you would be together,” he states with a rueful smile, though you can see that it doesn’t quite reach his reddened eyes. “Sorry for calling so late.”

“Don’t apologise, hyung,” Taehyung whines, half of his weight on you as he leans in close, “we were so worried about you. How’s your dad?”

Yoongi’s brows furrow beneath mussed hair. “Not great,” he admits. “A little more stable, at least, but he’s pretty confused right now. Nurses worry that it might have affected his brain.”

Your heart sinks, both at the thought of a relatively young man suffering such awful health complications, but also at how Yoongi was trying to hide his exhaustion and distress. “Oh my god.”

“Mm, we should know soon what the damage is,” Yoongi explains further, rubbing his eyes with the hand not holding his phone aloft, “and if he’s alright I can head back h- head back to the Villa. He’s just been sleeping a lot today so… We don’t really know how he’ll be until he’s conscious for enough time. Yoonji’s with him at the moment, I just wanted to duck out and give you guys an update. Where are the others?”

“Jin-hyung’s room,” Jimin answers, even as he’s throwing back the covers. “They’ll want to hear from you themselves, just hold on a minute.”

You hear Yoongi’s voice echoing from the phone and strain to make out his words as Jimin heads to the door. “No, no, don’t wake them. I actually wanted to ask if you’d like to come visit? Of course none of you know my dad, and he doesn’t know you, but- Well, Yoonji and I could do with some company.”

You jump up, rushing to Jimin’s side. As he naturally accommodates your presence and pulls you flush against him, you lift your face up to the phone. “We’ll be there,” you assure Yoongi, “just please get some rest tonight. It’s been a rough day.”

Yoongi’s pained smile breaks your heart, and Jimin leads the phone back to the bed so that Taehyung can say a final goodbye before the three of you hang up and crawl, exhausted but somewhat relieved, back into bed.

#bts x reader #bts x reader smut #bts fanfic #bts smut #the gentlemen #tgm #yoongi x reader #jin x reader #hoseok x reader #namjoon x reader #jimin x reader #taehyung x reader #jungkook x reader

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snowdice · 2 years

Text

Little Kestrel Vote History

Hi everyone. Just because it interests me, I wanted to make a post about the votes that happen in the proofreading story and how they’ve affected the story so far. I’ve talked about it before, but here is the sheet updated up to today. This post has what was voted on, the results, and the affect on the story the vote had. I will also post a stats page after this! :)

Starting character:

Logan

Patton

Virgil

Chapter 1:

Alright, where should our boys run off to?

A. The castle gardens to see old Mr. Deknis, the castle gardener who is a cranky old man, but does have a soft spot for children. (+1FG)

B. The kitchens where Patton’s mom works. She’s working on getting dinner ready. (+1CIL)

C. Up towards the royal living space where they might run into the king. (+1 KW)

Chapter 2:

How will Virgil respond to the gardener’s questions?

A. …Yes. ( FG+2)

B. Uh, I work in the kitchen, got overwhelmed and ran to hide out here. (FG+0)

C. Um…Are you stealing food from the castle garden? (FG+1)

D. *Silence* (FG+3)

Virgil needs to go somewhere to hide for a couple more hours. Should he go to (Universe decision. Wouldn’t change in other stuff)

A. The library Logan was in earlier. (He sees Logan’s desk and book.) (Logan’s book ref)

B. The pantry by the kitchen. (We’ll probably hear Patton’s mom speak, but he won’t know who she is yet.) (+1 CIL)

C. One of the unused guest rooms. (By the small dining hall Patton and Logan ran through. You just turn the opposite way that they did.) (More about Assassination Plot)

Chapter 3:

What type of cookie should Patton offer Virgil? Each comes with it’s own little background story.

A. Mint chocolate chip (Patton’s favorite cookie!) (P+2, L+1)

B. Sugar cookie (Logan’s favorite cookie) (L+2, P+1)

C. Snickerdoodle (The King’s favorite cookie) (T+2, P+1)

Chapter 4:

Which of Logan’s questions would he ask first? All of the questions are going to eventually be answered, but which one he asks first will change how Virgil responds and his initial perspective of him.

A. Why did you only have one knife? -1 for current panic levels, +0 L and P

B. What did you do to the guards? +3 for current panic levels, +4 for L and P

C. Who are you? What’s your name? +1 for current panic levels, +2 for L and P)

Why does Thomas have to leave for 3 weeks? Each with give a different short story when he gets back from his trip. (Story decider)

A. To deal with a trading dispute between two parts of the kingdom.

B. To deal with an issue that came up about getting food supplies to soldiers for the winter.

C. To try to convince another nation not to get into an alliance with an enemy kingdom. (flavor text)

Chapter 5:

What should Patton and Virgil talk about?

A. Feral cats (+0 panic +1 P)

B. Gardening (-1 panic +1 P)

C. Books (+1 panic +0 P)

Chapter 6: (Extra Scene)

What path should Patton take to the kitchen? Each has him seeing different people/things.

A. The shortest path down the spiral staircase. (Overhears guards)

B. The least strenuous path past the library Logan likes and down the bigger set of stairs. (Sees the librarian)

C. The least busy path where he cuts across the garden. (Sees Princess Marisol)

Who should be talking with Patton’s mom in the kitchen when he arrives? (Scene Modifiers)

1. A castle guard +2 Patton’s covertness, +1 intrigue (Gets away with macaroni salad.)

2. The gardener -2 Patton’s covertness +2 intrigue

3. A different kitchen worker +0 Patton’s covertness +0 intrigue (Gets mac salad but gets caught.)

Chapter 7:

What should Logan offer Virgil to eat off his table?

A. Mint (+1 L)

B. Honeycomb (+2 L)

C. Chives (+0 L)

Chapter 8:

Which part of the conversation between Patton and Logan should he wake up to? (Each comes with a different reaction to what is happening as well as a level of tiredness.)

A. They’re talking about how they’re going to keep him in the closet. (Medium amount of sleep, -1 panic)

B. They’re talking about how the binding potion is done. (Longest amount of sleep, +1 panic)

C. They’re talking about the food. (Shortest amount of sleep, +0 panic)

Chapter 9:

What should the theme of Virgil’s closet end up being?

A. Cats. (+2P)

B. Flowers. (+1 V +1P)

C. Stars. (+1 L +1V)

Chapter 10:

What are the boys going to have for dinner? (Scene modifier)

A. Chicken noodle soup- Had a discussion with one of the guards that Virgil drugged. Thinks Logan is legitimately sick so she made traditional feel better food.

B. A bunch of toast and crackers with a few different toppings- Had a discussion with Thomas’ royal advisor. Thinks Logan is probably faking because he’s tired and worried about his dad a bit but isn’t sure, so she made him something that would sit well if he was actually sick, but would also cheer him up (see jam).

C. Had a discussion with the castle librarian. Thinks Logan is likely very stressed out since he didn’t go to the library that day (a strange thing for him not to do in a day), so she made him something he really likes to make him feel better.)

Virgil knows a little bit about constellations. Which one is his favorite. (Note: these are all fantasy ones, not ones that exist.

A. The Moribund Dragon

B. The Five Magic Makers

C. The Girl Who Sowed the Forest (flavor text)

You will get the myth behind whichever constellation is picked.

Chapter 11:

What magic should Logan teach Virgil?

A. Hair color changing potion. (V+2)

B. Protection charm. (V+1, L+1)

C. Fire shapes. (V+1, P+1)

Chapter 12:

What book should Patton read to Virgil? Each choice comes with a different mini story.

A. A Boy with 5 Rocks.

B. The Doll’s Cauldron

C. The Neverending Garden (flavor text)

Chapter 13:

Shape for the pendant.

1. Heart (P+1)

2. Leaf (V+1)

3. Crescent Moon (L+1)

Second vote: Color

4. Red

5. Orange

6. Yellow

7. Green

8. Blue

9. Purple (+1 V)

10. Black

Third vote: Engraving

11. Spiral Sun (Emphasizes healing) (+1L +1V)

12. Flame (Emphasizes empowerment) (+2 V)

13. Interlocked hearts (Emphasizes love) (+1P +1V)

Last vote: Decoration

11. Glitter (magically put under the surface of the pendant) (+1P)

12. A pressed rose (magically put under the surface of the pendant) (+1V)

13. Glow in the dark paint (+1L)

Chapter 14:

I want them to be swapping stories in the next one. Who drags who with childhood stories (or at least who starts it)? (Scene modification)

1. Patton drags Logan. (flavor text)

2. Logan drags Patton

What embarrassing story should Logan tell Virgil about in the proofreading story tonight? Vote by ask, reply, or reblog. (Scene modification)

A. Accidently pushed a foreign dignitary he had a crush on into a fountain. (flavor text)

B. When it was dark one night, he accidently put cayenne pepper instead of cinnamon in his hot chocolate, and woke up half of the castle screaming.

C. Died his entire body orange for three weeks because he got into Logan’s stuff and Logan wouldn’t fix him.

Chapter 15:

What cat is Patton going to smuggle into Logan’s room to show Virgil? Each cat has their own personality. (Scene modification)

A. Mittens (White fluffy Ragdoll with black paws and face. Likes to curl up on people’s laps.) (flavor text)

B. Cleo (All grey, British short haired. Named after Cleopatra, thinks she owns the castle.)

C. Cinnamon (Orange Scottish Fold cat. Hobbies include causing problems on purpose.)

Chapter 16: (Scene modification)

What potion would Logan probably be planning on teaching Virgil next?

A. A very basic healing potion.

B. Basically a find my iPhone potion that lets you connect two objects and you can find one with the other. (flavor text)

C. A cleaning potion.

Chapter 17: (Scene modification)

please send in votes for what activity you want to see from Virgil’s perspective. All of them involve both Patton and Logan.

1. Reading lessons. +3 soft +1 cute +0 hilarity

2. Learning to make the tracking potion. +1 soft +1 cute +2 hilarity

3. Virgil gets to try different food party. +1 soft +2 cute +1 hilarity

Which book? (Scene modification)

A. Five Dragons and a Flame

B. The End of May.

C. A Stone in the Meadow.

D. The Never-ending Garden (flavor text)

What order are we going in? Note: Virgil is actually going to like spicy foods. He is going to like… pretty much all of the food. (Scene modification)

A. Sweet, savory, spicy (desert first!)

B. Spicy, sweet, savory

C. Savory, spicy, sweet (desert last!) (flavor text)

Chapter 18:

Which hair accessory should we braid into Virgil’s hair?

A. Feather. (Except it wouldn’t be a comb, it’d be something that gets braided in more.) Milder angst. (+1 panic next chapter)

B. Leaves (but silver with purple accents) Peak angst. (DKS unlocked, +3) (+3 panic next chapter)

C. Stars (again with purple accents though) Moderate angst. (+0 panic next chapter)

(What would have happened if the stars or feathers had been picked?

All scenes would lead to Logan and Patton leaving him alone in the room and Thomas finding him. He then would always end up under the bed.

For stars, that was Logan’s when he was younger which his dead dad gave to him. (He liked purple just like Virgil!) He would have told Virgil this and been slightly sad, but not nearly as much. Patton would have done Virgil’s hair as he is in general better at hair. (Logan did Virgil’s hair with the leaves because the piece meant a lot to him and he also had been taught to do his Pa’s hair like that when he was really little.) Logan would have left the room to find some of the things he knew matched it and Patton would have excitedly followed him to suggest a piece he was familiar with. Virgil would have still freaked out about wearing Thomas’s son’s hairpiece when he came in but not nearly as much as he was while wearing his dead husband’s. He would have still wanted it out, but wouldn’t have been quite as desperate and practically ripping his own hair out.

For feathers, it was something Thomas wore, but nothing of any significance. Logan would not have told Virgil who it belonged to. So there would have been no sadness for Logan in the start up. Patton would have done Virgil’s hair as he is good at hair. Patton would have left the room first to find some more things and Logan would have followed him to keep him from bringing too much. Virgil would have no reason to freak out about the hairpiece other than that it was expensive and would have left it in in the aftermath.)

Chapter 20:

So, now we can finally allow our dear assassin friend to leave Logan’s bedroom. He will eventually go to all of these places, but where should we take him on his first day of freedom?

A. The library. (KW+1, DKS+1)

B. The kitchen. (CIL+1)

C. The garden. (FG+1)

Chapter 21:

What more active activity should they do later? Each, obviously, comes with a different activity and a different adult character interaction.

A. Introduce Virgil to horses (CIL+1 DKS+1)

B. Climbing trees. (Virgil is going to be scary good at this.) (FG+1)

C. Teach Virgil what tag is. (They will come to regret this most thoroughly.) (KW+1)

Chapter 22: (Scene modifier)

Do you guys want

A. Mr. Deknis backstory via Logan.

B. Mr. Deknis to interrupt them and for us to actually get to see him today, but not get his backstory yet.) (flavor text)

Chapter 23:

Time for an ominous vote. Vote for a word, and chose wisely. That word will be in the next paragraph of this fic.

A. Stop (Virgil would have managed to stop before running into Thomas.) +0 panic

B. Bump (Virgil manages to slow down, but still bumps into Thomas) +5 panic

C. Slam (Virgil slams into Thomas)+10 panic (next chapter)

Chapter 24:

1. Try to talk to Virgil to get him to calm down. (-1panic T+2)

2. Let Logan and Patton work with him, but stick around. (+1 panic T+1)

3. Make a tactical retreat and leave Patton and Logan to handle it so his presence won’t make things worse. (-2 panic T+0)

Chapter 25:

Virgil has three pairs of pajamas he’s been given while he’s hear. Which ones should he wear?

1. A large white shirt splattered with paint from Patton’s painting phase. (+1P)

2. A galaxy print t-shirt Logan grew out of. (+1L)

3. A giant black sweater of indiscernible origin Logan found in the back of his closet that Virgil has claimed as his own. (+1V)

Chapter 26: (Scene modifiers)

Mr. Deknis is a snitch and immediately told Patton’s mom that Patton had befriended the mysterious child in the caste. Patton’s mom now wants to meet Virgil. Should they go

A. Now, for breakfast. (Flavor text)

B. In the afternoon.

C. After dinner.

Chapter 27: (Scene modifiers)

What homemade candy does Patton’s mom keep in her office?

1. Butterscotch hard candies.

2. Peppermints. (Flavor text)

3. Strawberry hard candies.

Chapter 28:

Who would you most like to see as the perspective character for the next chapter. Note, there is going to be an Adult^TM meeting about the strange small child so the content will be mostly the same, the perspective will just be different.

A. Mr. Deknis (The gardener) (FG+1)

B. Thomas (KW+1, DKS+1)

C. Ms. Heart (Patton’s mom) (CIL+1)

Ms. Heart is making them tea. What type of tea are they going to drink? (This has an affect on the mood of the conversation.) (Scene modifiers)

A. Earl Grey +2 Intense

B. Peach Green +1 Intense

C. Chamomile +0 Intense

Chapter 29:

So, next chapter where do you want to see the kiddos?

1. The library (+1L, +1KW)

2. The sitting room in the royal wing (+1P, +1CL)

3. The courtyard (+1FG, +1V)

What is the subject of the book Logan got Virgil?

X. Flowers (V+1)

Y. Animals (P+1)

Z. Food (L+1)

Chapter 30:

What plant should Mr. Deknis be harvesting today? Virgil gets to help! (Scene modifier)

F. Pears

G. Acorn squash (flavor text)

H. Cauliflower

Chapter 31:

None

Chapter 32:

What do you want to see next?

A. Gardening hijinks. (FG+1)

B. Learning that fireplaces are the best hijinks. (KW+1)

C. Virgil is too good at hide and seek hijinks. (CIL+1, DKS+1)

Chapter 33:

We’re going to be getting permission to look at the room that Virgil found pretty soon. What about this old bricked up room in the bowls of the castle are you more interested in talking about? (Scene modifier)

A. The small bookshelf it has.

B. The contents of a chest. (Flavor text)

C. The jewelry box.

Chapter 34:

Winter activity for Logan to explain to Virgil.

A. Snowball fights (Patton story) (P+1, -1 panic)

B. Building Snowmen (Logan’s dad story) (DKS+1, -2 panic)

C. Sledding (Logan story) (L+1, +0 panic)

Chapter 35:

Adult perspective for the next chapter:

A. Thomas perspective dealing with getting the castle ready for the winter. He’d stumble across Virgil in the midst of this. (Note the next adult chapter will be a Thomas perspective chapter if that influences your vote.) (KW+1, DKS+1)

B. Helen perspective. She gives the child hot chocolate. Not much more to say about that. His eyes probably dilatate like a cat. (CIL +1)

C. Mr. Deknis. Virgil helps him out with some garden planning stuff. There isn’t really much to do because storing is pretty much done. We get a bit of Mr. Deknis trying to very gently interrogate small child, but alas, small child simply wants to gush about hot chocolate which he was introduced to earlier in the day (and still has a cup of.) (FG +1)

Chapter 36:

None

Chapter 37:

I’ve got some stuff to do today, and am going to work on the proofreading story. I have a quick vote for you guys. How should Virgil distract himself.

1. Practice reading (L+1)

2. Snoop around the room a bit since he’s never been there. (DKS+2, KW+1, T+1, +3 panic)

3. Make a bracelet out of string. (P+1)

Chapter 38:

How will Patton distract a stressed-out Virgil today?

A. Read the next part of The Neverending Garden in Logan’s room. (+NG achievement)

B. Go down to get breakfast. (CIL+1)

C. Draw. (P+1)

Chapter 39:

A. Shoulder (Shove) (+0 panic)

B. Head (Slap) (+2 panic)

C. Cheek (Punch) (+3 panic)

Chapter 40:

Where should Thomas go in the castle?

A. Cabinet (the type of room, not like a kitchen cabinet, basically a study in a castle) (+1 panic)

B. Dovecoat (a building where doves are housed on the castle grounds) (+2 panic since it’s outside)

C. One of the very few secret hallways Thomas knows. (-1 panic)

Chapter 41:

Last time on the Proofreading story, Thomas managed to convince Virgil to not hide in the walls for the rest of his existence. Where would you like him to take Virgil?

A. Back to the royal wing. (+1T, +1P, +1KW)

B. Down to the kitchen. (+1T +1L, +1CIL)

C. To the library he ran away from. (+2L)

Chapter 42:

1. Inside activities (-1 panic, +1CIL)

2. Inside activities, but not in a building connected to the castle so they have to go outside- some stress (+1 panic, +1DKS, +1KW) [unlock stable scene for Thomas’s next perspective]

3. Patton somehow convinces him to try playing in the snow- all the stress (+2 panic, +1FG)

Chapter 43:

Any preferences on where you want to explore?

A. The main public library (the one we’ve gone to is a more private one) (+1L)

B. The guardroom (+1P)

C. The guest apartments (that are empty during this time of year) (+1V)

What book should Logan get to read to Virgil?

A. Into the Mist (Fantasy) (Into the Mist book unlocked)

B. Thief of Crow (Adventure)

C. I Wake at Midnight (Mystery)

Chapter 44:

Pick how much snow is coming down outside! The choice will decide how characters interact and what they do in the next chapter.

A. A very small amount of snow. Just a flurry. (+1 panic, Walking back scene)

B. A good amount of snow is coming down. A bit miserable to walk in but you’d be willing to drive in it if you needed to. (+2 panic, +1KW, Thomas gives him his coat)

C. A lot of snow is coming down. It’s starting to obstruct vision. (+3 panic, +2 KW, Thomas and Virgil stay in the stable)

Chapter 45:

What drink should Thomas get Virgil in the breakroom? It will decide what they talk about.

a) Earl Grey tea (+2 KW, talk about Logan and Patton)

b) Hot apple cider (+2 DKS, conversation about Thomas’s husband)

c) Hot chocolate (+1 DKS +1KW, not explicit mention of Thomas’s husband)

Should Virgil hold Thomas’s hand on the way back to the castle?

a) Yes (+1 T)

b) No (+0 T)

c) No, until he goes outside and is scared. (+3T)

#little kestrel #birds of different feathers #not writing #not pieces fic #proofread stories

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 3 years

Text

Winner’s Curse: Epilogue

Note: Wooo boy, it’s over. Now I know not many people may have read this, it may not have the best editing and some parts are a bit vague and not the best. In fact I’ll probably revise some parts at a later date or if I ever decide to post on A03, but I am still super proud of it. I think I did some great character parts and there are some sections that I’m just super proud of. I’m also happy that I actually finished it. It’s my longest fic to date and I actually completed it! 30 chapters. Well 32 if you include the prologue and epilogue. So cool! Plus I wrote what I really wanted, which I’ll admit was not the plot. The plot was a bit wonky and maybe I had too many characters that I didn’t juggle well and didn’t give them all equal exploration. Also action scenes were hard for me to write so those were not the best. But still- getting to explore these characters and their relationships and include several of my favorite Disney characters. Very fun. Also thanks to @edream93 for encouraging me when this was just a little idea, looking over some sections and offering advice and for overall being an amazing person. Check out her WLTF and other descendants fics like London Fog Nightcaps. And for the final time, hope y’all enjoy reading.

Flash forward to summer break in Agrabah

Jordan stretched, cracking her back after sitting hunched at her desk for the past hour editing her latest video How to Date a Djinn Episode 3. She had finally convinced the tech-averse Calix to join her in making satire videos of all the most terrible dates she had been on. Initially, she had planned for it to be a serious thing where she reminded her viewers of genie autonomy and the idea they had feelings behind their wishing powers, but Calix was never good at playing emotional PSAs.

Besides it was more fun that way to spoof how terrible, and sometimes ridiculous her romantic suitors were. Plus the hilarity kept her from thinking too much about the bitterness of the memories.

She cracked her neck and poofed outside to Aziz’s room where her lamp laid on its usual perch. Outside she could hear the thump of running feet and the screech of confused peacocks.

“Malik! No riding the peacocks!” A servant shouted

“Yes, riding peacocks!”

“No, Noor, Fahran, that’s not allowed. Get off of them!”

Jordan shook her head in amusement at the kids' antics.

Noor and Fahran were having a blast hanging out with their new “little” brother as they called the 5 year old. Though they were family in a way. Jade was the half sister to Aladdin’s half brother, Mozonroth. And Malik was their nephew. Even though the family tree was a bit tangled and confusing to visualize in your head.

And where Jade and Malik were concerned, Jay was also included as Aladdin had originally planned in inviting the former thief to Agrabah so they could get to know each other, and Jay, to get in touch with the more savory side of his heritage. Jay and Aladdin had especially hit off as they compared lives on the streets and bragged about some of their more daring heists so any concern of whether the Jafar connection would sour things was gone. All together, Jay, Jade and Malik were new, though unofficial members of the family. Aladdin, and Jasmine decided to hold off any official adoption in respect to Jay and Jade’s feelings.

Though, having three new members meant triple the chaos, the running in the halls and inevitable breaking of antique objects. It was still triple the fun.

Razoul, predictably, despised the decision. But hey, he wasn’t the sultan.

Jordan peeked out to the hall, no sign of peacock racing or frazzled servants anywhere. Since she’d been inside so long she decided to go outside to the backyard.

Passing the living room, she saw Jay playing some sort of Wii-fit game against Carlos, Lonnie and Gil whose scores were also reflected on the screen even as they played millions of miles away in their own living rooms. Jordan checked the time, ah it was 2’o clock on the doubt. Jay always called his friends at this time since it was when the time zones converged suitably for all of them to chat.

Jade was lounging on the couch, facetiming her girlfriend, Yzla. Jordan waved, and Jade waved in return, focusing mainly on their conversation which involved some llama prank with Empress Malina. Yzla was staying with Emperor Kuzco and his family. A arrangement Kuzco had initially been against but his wife and son overruled him. Which was for the best because apparently Yzla and him were hitting it off like two peas in a pod, scaring Malina, by tricking her into thinking Kuzco had changed into a llama again.

Huh, that reminded her, she hadn’t checked social media in a few hours. So she scrolled through, looking at Ben’s new post that there was to be a new class in the fall. Magic 101 with Flora, Fauna and Merrywhether and many surprise guest lecturers.

The Magic 101 class had been one of Uma’s many ideas for the new and improved Auradon. She told Ben of Alexandria’s reasoning for the revolt, explaining that the pressure for magic creatures to deny their magic was a strong reason for resentment, and most importantly, unfair. And Ben, who had been present at several meetings where mermaids, fairies and others stated their petitions of complaints, agreed. King Ben had removed the magic ban and decided to institute the Magic 101 class. Contrary to the name, the class wasn’t for magical beings, they already knew how to deal with their powers and not use them to affect others or supposedly cheat at life. The class was a requirement for Auradonians to learn about their fellow beings, how it was a vital part of them and the greater natural world.

Ben had actually suggested that she’d be the magical liaison and teacher assistant for the new Magic 101 classes but she had politely declined. She did accept going as a demonstrator whenever it was time for her Dad’s guest lecture.

But a fulltime TA? It sounded like too much work, her powers were not applicable to the greater magical population, and most importantly, she really wanted to get back to doing her auratube show. Especially now that she was bound to have so many new subscribers thanks to her newfound fame for helping to defeat the Coven.

Jordan had considered doing a series about the Isle mission against the Coven in order to get the story straight and not create too wild legends regarding their month and a half there. And okay, there was also the fact that she wanted to renew her hits after losing subscribers after not posting for a month.

But she ultimately decided not to. It was their mission, only they’d get what happened in that wild untamed place of evil and poverty. Besides, it was very personal and she didn’t want to have to go into her fights with Aziz and Jay on Auratube. Or her encounter with Antiquam.

No she’d rather not think about the latter for a very long time.

Dismissing those thoughts she scrolled through several more posted announcements like the newly formed Minority Kingdom Council made up of representatives from Atlantis, Atlantica, Arrendelle, Kuzcoropia, and Pydrian, who were overrun by environmental and tourism concerns as Alexandria brought up. There was also a new class of Vks that were coming in. Basically the teen population of the Isle.

The orphans and kids from the Isle were sent to boarding elementary schools around Auradon as well as foster care with professional trained therapists for the abused youngsters.

Ben’s decision to bring the whole teen population in had been a controversial one. But he had stood by it, stating that he was taking the advice of his people, the ones from his generation who were to make up the future generation and a schoolwide vote had agreed that the Vks should be let in.

Granted it had taken a two month lobbying campaign led by Mal and Evie with Lonnie, Carlos, Jane and Jay’s help. But they did, they persuaded lots of royal kids that it was better to bring Vks over. It also helped that Mal, Jay, Evie, Carlos and Uma had been pronounced Auradon’s saviors thrice in a row so…

Though it wouldn’t be until August that all the Vks, with a few exceptions like the resolutely bad CJ Hook and Prince Lars, and Antiquam, would be able to get to Auradon. But they would, Uma was making sure of it. Even Zevon and Ginny were coming despite their actions in proudly helping the Coven, Ben believed they just needed to be removed from the negative influences of their mothers.

Some Vks had already come over like Carlos’ cousin. Diego had refused to enter the VK program through school, but through the work progrm. Now he and his band, Rotten Apples, could introduce Isle grunge rock to Auradon’s farmer populations and inspire them to use music to express themselves. Carlos informed them that Diego wasn’t too into that inspiration and empowerment stuff, but he was loving the popularity. And he often crashed to the Radcliff house to catch up with Carlos and get a break from his adoring fans.

Harriet Hook, also in the work program, was working in Neverland, serving as guard for docks and a pretty mean one too, Jordan heard. Any tourist that tried to sneak

Not that everyone was residing in the homes of their parents’ enemies. Celia Facilier was living with her sister Freddie, and Freddie’s girlfriend, Ally at the Mad for Tea Shop. Also as a student by day and helping her sister as the evening entertainment at night. Singing only. FG was still wary of introducing such sketchy magic as card readings. Celia did choose to be a TA to her sister’s class, Goodness 101. Freddie was taking over for FG to make it a revamped, less patronizing seminar of how to act in Auradon with Ally popping in for politeness lessons and Carlos with therapy dogs. Though FG still stayed in the room to supervise and make sure the class stayed on track and not turn into “Everything that’s wrong about sappy sweet Auradon.”

Dizzy was reunited with her mother, her aunt Anastasia, her uncle, the Baker and Anthony Tremine and they lived in the faculty building of Auradon Prep. Easy for Anthony and Dizzy to get to school and for the Baker to go to his new job as school cook.

His baguettes were to die for, so flaky and crispy. Even Chad reluctantly agreed to their goodness when she interviewed him for student reactions to the new cook. Anastasia and Drizella were the new cosmeticians in training at the school’s day spa even though the two still argued over what was a better color and such.

Also working in Auradon’s kitchen were Gil, and Cosette’s mothers who had taken in their other’s sister’s sons, Gaston Jr, Gaston the Third and Gaston (IV) the Great. Their mother had been deemed just as abusive as Gaston and was to stay on the Isle with him. Gil had been nervous about living with his brothers again but he had Cosette by his side and Harry and Uma just a street away. Harry was just as fiercely loyal as ever to his crew and to Uma, who he’d wait for outside of Ben’s office, waiting for their meetings to end.

Gil also had Jay on his side. And though Jordan had absolutely no proof, she just felt something between them, and she was planning to use this summer to sniff out just what it was.

It had been more controversial to bring back some adult villains like Anastasia and Circe, but Ben had explained that he was not in the business of tearing families apart and adults were able to change too. Smee, for instance, wanted to retire from swabbing desks and wanted his second act in life to follow his lifelong dream. Be a clockmaker, ironically enough considering his boss’ fear of the ticking. Same with other low level henchmen like Jace and Harry, and Hun soldiers that had been following the battle orders and propaganda Shan Yu had fed them.

Ben had promised not all adults would come over, especially not ones that had abused their children, and that he, Mal and Uma were designing a careful vetting process for this program.

As for the Auradonian bred villains. Morgana and Morgaine hadn’t stayed in the dungeon for long. One day the guards had come down to give their food and they were just gone. No one knew where they went and no magic had been able to locate them. Merlin said it was no use trying. The Le Feys were tricky and wouldn’t reappear again unless they wanted to.

Kyro, Victoria and Alexandria were in therapy now in a new building away from the dorms and those who would shun them for their actions like the media that had reviled them when the news leaked out. It was a bit of a depressing building Jordan thought since one could see it if they leaned far out their windows. The outside of it looked like an insane asylum but Evie enthused about how open- aired and peaceful it was inside. The point of it was to clear the outside world, and focus on healing. What’s more, since Uma learned of FG’s somewhat oblivious and condescending advice from Alexandria, they hired a new counselor. A Dr. Mickey Mouse.

So yeah, things seemed to wrapping out into a happily ever after for all.

Jordan walked into a door, rubbing her head of the bruise and cursing herself for not looking up. Tucking the phone in her pocket, she was about to open the door when Aziz opened it for her, heading inside from hanging out on the hammock.

He didn’t even look at her as he entered, he was busy chatting on the phone with who else, his new girlfriend.

Aziz had stayed true to his word that he and Lala were just friends, and remained just friends for three months. It had irritated Jordan to no end to watch them sneak discreet looks, study together since Lala only knew the Atlantean alphabet and not the English, and dance around their feelings as if the obvious wasn’t there. And it took all her self control to honor her vow to not meddle and send a flying carpet in to speed things up.

At least Aziz did not shut her out completely and still went to her advice for what to do when he asked her to be his girlfriend.

“What if she says no? Or doesn’t know what that is. Jay did say it was only gang activity. Or maybe she’ll just say no because she thinks she’ll go crazy like her mom. But I really want her to say yes. Oh Allah, what if I mess it up instead by acting like an idiot. Or she already thinks that. I walked into a wall yesterday.”

“Aziz, she likes you,” Jordan reassured him, “I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Like a leopard with dinner, she totally wants to eat you. In a sexy, hungry with desire way. Not cannibal way. And really, walking into a wall? That’s not a dealbreaker or even embarrassing. If you want to talk about embarrassing, nothing can top the time you popped in front of that yoga instructor you were trying to impress.” “I had food poisoning from the oysters!” Aziz yelled indiginantly.

“Doesn’t change the fact that you shitted during downward dog,” Jordan smirked at Aziz’s flustered angry face, “Nor was it like that time when you tried to impress Anxlin with a butterfly knife and ended up-”

“Will you stop bringing up the past?” Jordan decided to change tactics and be the serious, comforting big sister that he wanted, “Just speak from the heart. You’re on the same page with so many things, and you talk so much. Sooo much, it’s kinda annoying. Especially when you’re yapping in my room when I’m trying to watch a movie. But anyway, I think when the time comes your heart will guide you to say the right thing. And if not… your lips can speak for you.”

So with that fabulous advice if Jordan said so herself, on the last day of school, before they went their separate ways for vacation. Aziz went to her room and asked her.

And while she said she wouldn’t meddle, Jordan totally turned into a bee to go through the keyhole and eavesdrop on their conversation. For moral support. Just Aziz didn’t know about it.

It was endearingly awkward as Aziz stammered through some rambling monologue of how he liked her a lot, and only if she was okay with it, but he really thought they had something so woud she maybe consider being his girlfriend.

Aziz should probably have gotten some lessons from Jay on the art of smooth, but Lala seemed to get it. “So if we’re in a relationship we do what we do now… but with kissing?” she clarified.

“Yes!” Aziz agreed eagerly, then tried to dial down his excitement, “I mean sure, if you want.”

“I would really like that,” Lala bit her lip nervously but her expression was hopefully as Aziz leaned in.

Their kiss was short, two seconds at the most. Jordan would have given it a three out of five. It was unsure and the two seemed to be surprised they even did it. But it was clear from the look in their eyes, that they only saw each other and the rest of the world was already fading away for them, that that small kiss was perfect to them.

So they kissed again. Much more purposefully this time. Oh Allah, Jordan was so proud when Aziz added some passion and slipped tongue first. He was really growing up.

And they kissed again, and again and soon they were making out on Lala’s bed, which was starting to get kinda gross and Jordan was feeling weird about watching them. So she took that as her cue to leave.

But now she had plenty of new things to annoy Aziz about so she took it as a plus.

Grabbing him by the arm to stop, Jordan grabbed his camera.

“Hi, Lala, how are you?” Jordan waved, mugging for the camera as Aziz grabbed it back, and tried to push her out of the frame. The white-haired girl was dressed up in Evie’s new line of summer clothes with her hair up in a bun, and most startingly, her brown eyes were human.

It was silly that Jordan was surprised by Lala’s human eyes, she had been the one to change them when in a burst of good will offered all their allies on the adventure a wish. Lala hadn’t used the offered three wishes, just one, which was to remove the leopard spell Queen La had put on her. She lost her cat eyes and the habit of walking on all fours, but she still had her cat-like grace which Jordan chalked up to natural ability. It had been three months since that wish, but she had been so used to Lala’s cat-like slits with the dilated pupils. It had been a unique marker like the scar that everyone could see on Lala’s leg when she wore shorts.

“I’m well. Aziz sent me your new vlog about Odiferous, it was very interesting.” Lala nodded curtly. Jordan knew Lala was usually guarded against everyone so the coldness didn’t bother her as much as it used to. Thanks to hanging out with Aziz and Jade, she was starting to slowly warm up to people she wasn’t close to even though her tone didn’t reflect it.

“How are the Porters?” Jordan asked, cutting off whatever Aziz was about to say next. He glared at her, but she ignored. Hey, she said she’d stop mothering him. So now it was back to annoying big sister privileges.

“They’re well. Kerchak and I are going tree surfing tomorrow.” Lala answered. When Ben put up the invitation of Vks in need of foster homes or adoptive families, the Porters offered to take in Clay Clayton, and Lala. Clay refused and went with his Aunt, Lady Waltham who was thrilled to meet her surly nephew for the first time. Lala joined the Porters where she was helping their gorilla reserve, connecting with animals instead of hunting them for food and survival.

It was bound to be awkward considering their daughter’s actions, but Auradon seemed to consider it part of their penance even though they hadn’t known what Victoria had planned to wrought. But according to Lala, they did their best to skirt around that sensitive issue and treat her like a guest, and she was starting to befriend Kerchak. He even gave her a leopard of her own which she named Euware II though the pet made Tarzan a bit wary. Still, Lala had to stay in her room on weekends when Victoria visited from therapy.

“That’s great. When are you coming to visit? I know Jade is just dying for you to visit. It’d be fun. We can go sand surfing, oh and explore some of the caves under the citadel. Oh, oh and I just know Aziz wants to show you some of the secret alcoves in the palace. They’re great for making out and-” “Go away!” Aziz waved her off

“You want me to leave? But who will chaperon you two? Who will tell Lala all the embarrassing stories from your childhood? I’ve been holding onto blackmail for a reason, Aziz. I must tell her,” Jordan turned to the screen, “But seriously, come visit. I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you!” Aziz sighed in exasperation, “Give me 5 minutes, I’ll join you to go to the bazaar later, Jord.”

“See ya!” Jordan called over the shoulder as she headed to the palace kitchen, still hearing some snippets of Aziz’s conversation about his summer psychology classes. His new passion since Jordan had suggested that since he liked overanalyzing and counselling other people's problems, he could research into being a psychologist.

Upon reaching the outside, Jordan took a big breath of the sweet summer air with a hint of jasmine and the coconut and sighed.

Life was good.

Of course, life was always good when it was summer vacation but it was more than that. She had really committed to what she had learned on the Isle. She lived in the present now, and tried not to wallow in the anger and resentment that extended to almost every human she met.

Did that kind of positive mindset always work? Hell no, sometimes, someone would grab her arm, requesting for a wish, rubbing her jacket as if that was the lamp and not her. Yeah, that stupid event would irritate her all morning but she didn’t go into her spiral of how all humans were greedy monsters, her life sucked that she had to walk among them and so on and so forth. She learned to vent to Aziz and let it go.

She would always meet bad people in her life, when that happened, if the situation was appropriate, she would blow a mini sandstorm in their face and move on.

She’d also gotten more sensitive about complaining about humanity in front of Aziz. She tried to complain of an individual person and not make broad generalizations about the mortal race, and repeat that Aziz and his family were the exception.

Well Aladdin’s family, and Uma, and Jay, and Lonnie, and Calix and Ben, and she was starting to realize her circle of those she trusted was expanding.

It felt good to have that knowledge.

Even if Aziz might not always be there, though she’d kill him if he wasn’t, she still had others who cared about her.

Then again, she, Calix, Aziz, Jay and Uma had been through a harrowing adventure that nearly destroyed the world they knew, and had to face their greatest fears and insecurities to do so. If that didn’t make you trust a person, what would?

There were also her parents. Her parents always had her back.

That was another thing she’d been committed to doing since she got back from the Isle and saved Auradon.

Her parents had been the first ones to get there, magical teleportation after all and were laying out the blue carpet and making plans for the greatest party in all of Agrabah for their daughter, the hero. Instead of getting annoyed by their zany antics as usual, and annoyed at how they ignored the fact she faced possibly life-ending danger against their enemies, she just hugged them.

The act had clearly surprised them because both of their jaws broke off and fell to the floor before snapping back up like a ball. But they loved the change in her nonetheless.

Ever since then, she’d been going out with them every other weekend, be it ice skating on Saturn’s rings or clubbing or going out to drink in celebration of the banning of the Magic Ban.

She had thought for so long that if she let herself act even a little bit like them, she’d be signing herself to a fate of servitude, never being taken seriously, and becoming a negligent oblivious person who only wanted to focus on fun.

She had worried that if these things didn’t come naturally to her, she’d have to fake it in order to fit in and be palatable to her own parents. So they wouldn’t become bored with her. She hadn’t liked thinking about it, but she always felt that was the underlying reason they left her.

But she lived in the present now and shoved all those thoughts away. She did what she wanted without thinking of the implications. And she found that actively listening to what they were saying, how they constantly suggested ideas for their next adventure, how it was too bad she had school and couldn’t come with them to their trip. They didn’t think she was a damper on their party style, they wanted her to be with them. And she usually said to each invitation.

YOLO, right. Well more like YOLFSMAWEI.

(You Only Live Forever So Might As Well Enjoy It. Not as catchy but infinitely more accurate)

Family time was a lot more enjoyable that way instead of brooding that once it was over, they were going to forget about her and go about their lives as if they didn’t have a daughter.

Although, Jordan still did crave for a meaningful talk where she got to tell them about some of her issues with their lack of parenting oversight, and maybe delve into how abandoned she felt when they wouldn’t discuss such issues like her rape, they still weren’t ready for that.

Though Aladdin was talking to her dad on her behalf, and it seemed he was starting to soften to it.

Until then, she had two sets of parents. Aladdin and Jasmine, probably the first humans who she trusted, and respected. The first ones who saw her as a child and not a being for wishes. They gave her the love and attention she had craved when she needed it. They stood by treating her like everyone else, as she wished, even when it meant disregarding her excuses that her genie-ness exempted her from getting in trouble. They were always present her lives and were the ones that reminded her that her supposed fate was not a fate, that no one could shackle her, not unless they went through them. They encouraged that there other sides to her besides being a genie. That she should work hard, be kind, be honest and be independent.

Her mom and dad, who loved her with all their hearts and thought of her as their best friend. It wasn’t the most parental relationship but she had started to accept that it would never be. They were genie parents, not human ones, and it was finally sinking in that the rules would always be different from them. No matter that Jordan looked human and was raised by them. But that’s what made them special. No one else in the world would get her quite like her mom and dad.

Aziz opened the door, knocking her in the back and she moved over so he could wait beside her.

She checked her phone. Her parents were supposed to come here five minutes ago so they culd go to the bazaar together.

They probably weren’t going to come for another twenty minutes.

Ah genies, Jordan sighed, they were never going to be punctual. She wondered how many years it would be before she started viewing time as an unimportant mortal construct.

She was about to pose that question to Aziz, whether it would occur in his lifetime or in her 5,000s when a green and blue poof popped up in front of them.

“We’re here!” The two blew the smoke away to reveal the pair in matching red and white striped tuxedos with a blinking “Genie and Eden” sign hanging behind them.

“It’s Genie and Eden!” Eden announced

“Eden and Genie!” Genie intoned.

Then with a snap of a finger, the props and costumes disappeared, and Genie sat thoughtfully in the air, “We can’t quite choose which sounds better.”

Eden went back to a form-fitting black leotard with a black bowler hat, smoking a cigar in her best Liza Minelli voice, “Whaddya think, daughter dear, whaddya think?”

“I think we should go to the bazaar and have the people decide which is better.” Jordan suggested, knowing that if they did it here, they wouldn’t leave.

“By george, she’s right!” Genie exclaimed transforming into a nerdy account, “Statistically, it is always better to test things with a test audience, and according to my calculations that the Agrabah bazaar has the best cross-pool of audience with 10% bearded, 40% kids..” He transformed into his usually big blue self, “Aaand let’s get outta here!”

“Wait up!” Jay yelled, nearly running into the four of them with Jade at his side, “I wanna go to the bazaar too, there was that awesome scimir I wanted to buy.” “Yeah me too, I want to steal things too… I-I mean buy. Buy with money. That I did not steal from the mean guard.” “His name is Razoul, and you really shouldn’t. He already doesn’t like you.” Aziz shook his head.

“I don’t like him, and that’s what makes it so tempting.” Jade defended.

“Yeah, he kinda has it coming,” Jay agreed.

“Now, now, we won’t say anything about it. But you must stop,” Eden warned in a prim British accent, poofing into a blue serge suit like a certain famous nanny, “Now spit spot, hurry up, we don’t want to be late to the bazaar.”

Genie transformed into a Bert to his wife’s Mary Poppins, adding, “Come ‘ere ye kiddos and ‘urry it ‘up.”

Jay and Jade stared at each in the classic “What the hell?” expression that bystanders always had whereas her parents were concerned. Aziz and Jordan just shrugged and smiled.

And so they went off to the bazaar and as the sun beated down on them, and Jordan whipped up a hijab from air to keep off the heat, she hummed a familiar tune which Aziz and her dad easily picked up.

“As you wind through the streets at the fabled bazaars with the cardamom-cluttered stalls. You can smell every spice while you haggle the price of the silks and the satin shawls. Oh, the music that plays as you move through a maze in the haze of your pure delight. You are caught in a dance. You are lost in the trance of another Arabian night…”

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ardri-na-bpiteog · 4 years

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I'm as upset as anyone on the left about this new coalition but I'm seeing a lot of angry people on Twitter saying that the people voted for Mary Lou to be Taoiseach and Sinn Féin "won" the election. It's really not productive to do this and comes across as either misunderstanding PR-STV or deliberately undemocratic.

I wanted her to be Taoiseach too and I wanted a left government but Ireland doesn't have first past the post. No one really "won" the election and the vote share between FF/SF/FG was 22.2%/24.5%/20.9%.

At the end of the day, only 25% of the electorate voted for Sinn Féin and all three major parties got within a few percentage points of each other. Sinn Féin getting about 2% more of the vote than Fianna Fáil is not a landslide. Yes I think it's also undemocratic that FF and FG are quite explicitly partnering to block SF from power, but as a bloc they did get more votes.

The left needs to build on this momentum and push FF and FG's vote share even lower, but to act like the people overwhelmingly wanted Sinn Féin is inaccurate.

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twdmusicboxmystery · 5 years

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TWD 10x04: Silence the Whisperers - Analysis

How did everyone like the episode? As always, I thought it was really good. The first thing I’ll say is that there isn’t nearly as much symbolism in it as there has been in the past few episodes. Not that there isn’t any, but you know how the past few have just been ridiculously overflowing with it? This one just has less. It’s one of those episodes that’s more action-oriented and setting up for what comes next.

***As always, spoilers abound below for episode 10x04. Don’t read until you’ve watched!!!***

Opening Sequence:

So the song playing in this sequence whispers “1, 2, 3” over and over again, which I think it significant. I already talked in an Ask about the wheel decoration behind Daryl, and how I think it represents the death fake out arc, and may show that Beth’s arc is about to come back around. Beyond that, Ezekiel is sad, Magna is having some issues, and a tree comes through Hilltop’s wall.

Hilltop:

We learn that 9 people got trapped in a building when the tree hit the roof and it caved in. They got all the people out, but this could be part of the Hole in the Roof theory. As the episode proceeds, the noise from the tree brings walkers and they’re afraid the whole wall will collapse. It’s already been weakened by the tree and now all the walkers are pushing in on it.

This hearkens back to two things for me. The first is the fallen trees in Them, which I always saw as significant. The second is, of course, when the church fell in S6, bringing down Alexandria’s walls and letting walkers in in 6x08/09.

Why would that be significant? Well, I think it’s obvious why Them would be significant, yeah? I mean, it’s after the storm and the fallen trees that the music box woke up. So if you want to draw a direct parallel, you might argue Beth will arrive after the tree falls. Honestly, I don’t see this as a big enough event to herald that, but it might be one of many small events that lead to her. More on that in a minute.

And how about paralleling it to S6? The biggest thing for me there is that that was smack in the middle of Glenn’s death fake out. After the church fell and let the walkers in, Glenn showed up, miraculously alive, and reunited with Maggie. Just saying.

In terms of the plot, I’m wondering (and this is pure conjecture) if Hilltop will eventually fall too. The Kingdom has already gone down, and I wonder if HT will too, forcing the entire group together at Alexandria. I’m not at all positive that’s where they’re going, but it crossed my mind.

Because the wall actually does collapse, but Michonne’s group shows up to help fight the walkers, and they do talk about fixing it. So we’ll see.

Ezekiel:

Given all the messages and Asks I’ve gotten about this, I doubt I need to explain it in great detail. Zeke has always had heavy parallels with Beth. Just as Daryl and Carol are very similar, so Beth and Ezekiel are too. Here, we have him contemplating suicide, much as Beth did in S2. Much like her, he realized he wants to live.

As I mentioned in an Ask, this happened on one side of the now-broken bridge Rick was blown off of. So that connects him to Rick. And he wore a green shirt (Beth). So I think that connects him to the death fake outs and this functions as a foreshadow of Zeke’s own coming death fake out.

He also rode a black horse. It ran by Michonne after he let it go. That made me realize something. It’s not anything groundbreaking, but just a detail I hadn’t really thought of before. We’ve always seen as white horse = Beth and black horse = Daryl. The white horse also = life or being alive. But I realized the black horse also = death, despair, lack of hope. That’s how Zeke felt here, and how Daryl felt around the time Buttons died. Again, nothing we didn’t already know, but I just hadn’t thought of it that way before.

When Michonne and Ezekiel talk, she says, “it never would have worked between us anyway. We’re both too stubborn.” He says, “maybe in another universe.” I laughed at that. As in, the comic book universe? It’s obviously the writers’ way of acknowledging that this is a nod to their comic book romance, but it’s not going to happen in the show. (Add that to the list of things TD has been correct about.)

Daryl/Lydia/Alexandria:

This was obviously the biggest story thread in the episode. And I gotta say, I loved it! Gauge and his friends are mean to Lydia and bully her. She talks to Negan about it more and more, which Daryl isn’t happy about.

I was laughing hysterically when Lydia butchered the squirrel in front of them. How much like Daryl is that? Like father, like daughter, I guess. She’s rebellious just like he is. Which isn’t surprising since they come from similar, abusive backgrounds.

Daryl is older and wiser now and advises her not to provoke them, but he himself would have done much the same only a few years ago.

The three bullies attack Lydia and Negan saves her. I gotta say, while I was one who thought it would have been more just for them to execute Negan at the end of AOW, it’s really hard to hate him when he’s being sweet to Lydia. While rescuing her, he accidentally kills the woman who used to be with the highwaymen.

So, remember in episode 1 when I talked about how Negan told FG he didn’t want people’s fear of the Whisperers to blow up in his face so that they blamed him and wanted to string him up? I said that was setting something up and this would happen eventually. So this episode is the fulfillment of that. It truly was an accident and he didn’t mean to kill her, but no way people are going to let it go, now. So Negan takes off.

In truth, I’ve been waiting for him to take off. I’m actually really excited about this story line. Remember last season when Negan escaped and left Alexandria for a while? Judith tried to stop him, and he took her compass? Well, he was only gone a short time, but during that time we saw tons of callbacks to Still, saw him run from dogs, and saw tons of other Beth-ish symbolism. We weren’t exactly sure what it meant at the time, but now I think we do.

That small excursion from Alexandria was a foreshadow of this one. He’ll probably be gone much longer this time and the arc will be much bigger. It’s important to note that we saw not only Beth symbolism, but also saw Negan drink bad water and throw it up. That hints at the radiation/helicopter group stuff.

So I’m not saying Negan will meet Beth in the woods next episode—obviously I’d be great with that, but I’m sure it will be much more complicated and protracted—but just that something about him leaving will lead to Beth. I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

When Daryl talks to Carol, she says all the drama in the communities—both the stuff with Negan and Lydia, as well as the tree situation at Hilltop—are distractions from the true enemy: Alpha. I know there are lots of theories floating around about Carol being the one to have let Negan out.

While I don’t think we have much evidence of that either way, I certainly wouldn’t dismiss it. It would mirror her killing Karen and David at the prison in 4a. Not that the action is the same, but this wouldn’t be the first time Carol took it on herself to solve a problem in a less than ethical way, because she thinks it’s for the greater good. But no one knows for sure what happened yet. They didn’t tell us in this episode. So we’ll just have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, when Michonne and Daryl talk on the radio, she tells him to protect Lydia. She’s afraid that if anything happens to Lydia, or if she leaves Alexandria, Alpha will attack them. Yeah, once again, that’s a setup. Something along these lines will happen eventually and bring Alpha’s wrath.

Near the end, Michonne, Judith and Luke head back to Oceanside because Rachel radioed to say they thought they saw some Whisperers near where the mask washed up in 10x01. So Michonne is going to investigate. She takes Judith and Luke with her. Where Luke is concerned, I kinda feel like he might die. I hope not, but they sure focused a lot on him saying heartfelt goodbyes to his group (Magna, Connie, Kelly, and Yumiko). That struck me as suspicious. Like that group might not all be together again.

Details:

I won’t do a full details post because there were only a handful I saw worth mentioning.

When Lydia said Gauge and his pals deserved what she did (with the squirrel), Daryl said, “I get it.” Obvious Beth line.

When Siddiq had another freak out, he put his face in ice water. Not a huge deal, but another example of water helping to (temporarily at least) heal him.

When Lydia was in medical, talking to Daryl, we see a bunch of IV bags behind her. Just reminded me of Grady.

Oh, and Lydia played around with a worm when she was talking to Negan. (Worm Theory.)

When Michonne talked to Daryl on the radio, she told him to be her proxy for the vote. This really isn’t anything official, but that word caught my ear. It had nothing to do with Beth in the plot, but how often does TD, in our theories, talk about Beth proxies? And I don’t think I’ve ever heard them use that actual word on the show before. So it just got my attention. ;D

When Negan disappeared, FG said the guards reported that the keys were missing. Key Theory. And reminds me a lot of all the keys we saw at Grady.

When Daryl and Carol talked on the steps, Carol had an interesting line. She said, “it’s like time never moves.” I wondered if that might be a reference to the clocks without hands. She also mentions New Mexico yet again.

We see Michonne and Judith fighting walkers side by side. Just look at this. I think it might be a callback to when Rick and Carl fought walkers together (with guns in that case) at the prison in 4a.

Finally, this isn’t really a TD detail, but they’re definitely setting something up with Magna and Yumiko. Their relationship is in a rocky place, but I feel like it’s mostly because Magna is kind of spiraling. She seems angry and like she just wants to kill everything. I don’t know what they’re setting up there, but something.

When Lydia butchered the squirrel, which I already said was very Daryl-like, it specifically showed that Father Gabriel (embodiment of the Sirius symbolism/Beth) was watching her. I’m not entirely sure what to make of that, but I found it interesting.

I loved seeing Daddy Daryl taking care of Lydia. It’s really sweet and compelling. I’m enjoying his interactions with Lydia. I always feel like he’s on the verge of telling her about Beth. But alas, he doesn’t. At least, not in this episode.

Lydia said she let Negan out, though when Daryl confronted her, she admitted she didn’t. But she ultimately wanted to stay in Negan’s cell because she felt safer in there. It just occurred to me that she currently has a Morgan mindset (from 6x06) where she actually feels more comfortable in a cage. Just kind of interesting.

Ending:

At the end, they repeat the “1, 2, 3” song again. We see Luke saying goodbye to everyone, which I already talked about. Then we see Carol on the roof, looking at a map. (Maybe evidence that she’s systematically looking for Alpha?) Then we see Daryl scrubbing the graffiti off his front door.

Guess what? The vest is back! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

That’s super important, guys. We really haven’t seen his vest in a LONG time. It’s return now, with the missing wing on obvious display, feels really important. Like Beth’s return (the return of his missing wing, perhaps?) is just around the corner.

The camera pans around, showing all the graffiti (there was more than just the stuff on Daryl’s door). It stops on one particular instance of it. And, this might be hard to hear, but if you put on the subtitles, the song ends, followed by the sounds of walkers. Then the subtitles say that a Whisperer is saying, “Shhhhh.”

Yeah, that feels like a very significant setup. I feel like these first three episodes were really intros or setups for the season. Now we’re going to get into the meat and potatoes of things. You know, either really get into the Whisper War, or else something else huge is going to happen. And whatever it is, I think it will lead to Beth. I saw the last sequence of this episode as evidence that the arc where Beth returns is about to ensue. That makes me happy.

Okay. Gonna stop there for today. As I said, I won’t do a details post for this episode. Either tomorrow or Wednesday, I’ll do a post talking about where I’m thinking the events of this episode (such as Negan leaving, Michonne going to Oceanside, seeing Daryl smoke last episode, etc) might be heading. So it will mostly be a predictions post. Sort of. Stay tuned. ;D

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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transcendentwhispers · 5 years

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“Outside the courtroom, hundreds of their supporters packed into the hallway and watched the televised session on two screens. As Chu spoke, many began to weep.The minister recounted his life story: from surviving violent land reform campaigns in mainland China to orphaned homelessness in Hong Kong, then a conversion to Christianity that led to a lifetime of public service through a local Baptist church. In Chai Wan, a low-income district where people lived in shanties and coffin-sized homes, Chu worked with drug addicts and gang members, advocated for public hospitals, and supported Chinese dissidents after the Tiananmen Square massacre — motivated by a faith that emphasized walking with the poor. That same faith drives Chu’s belief in democracy. “Political freedom is more than loyalty to the state,” he said. “It professes human dignity.”

Chu was convicted Tuesday alongside fellow Occupy Central with Love and Peace leaders Chan Kin-man and Benny Tai. Student activists Tommy Cheung and Eason Chung, legislators Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun, and political party leaders Raphael Wong and Lee Wing-tat were also convicted.

“It’s a slap in the face for the hundreds of thousands of people who went on the streets to protest peacefully for the government to fulfill its promises to bring democracy to Hong Kong,” said Maya Wang, China researcher for Human Rights Watch.

The court issued a judgment of more than 200 pages, saying the three Occupy leaders used “a wrong yardstick” to measure the degree of disturbance their movement caused.It said that “civil disobedience is not a defense to a criminal charge” and called the tactics “unrealistic” and “naive.” The judgment also denied that convicting the Umbrella leaders would cause a “chilling effect” on the exercise of freedoms of speech and assembly.“

In many cases, people really just want to express themselves and be quite constructive in how they think public affairs should be conducted,” said Wang. “But the Chinese and Hong Kong government in the last five years generally react with a hammer.”

In 2014, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in China proposed to alter the conditions of Hong Kong’s chief executive elections. Universal suffrage would be allowed — but only for two to three candidates nominated by a committee and deemed as people who “love the country and love Hong Kong.” Critics said this amounted to allowing everyone to vote, but only for Beijing’s choices.

In response, Hong Kong’s civil society came to its feet. Tai, a legal scholar who’d begun campaigning for direct universal suffrage, invited Chu and Chan Kin-man, a sociology professor, to join him in a movement called Occupy Central with Love and Peace.

Chu was already 70 years old. Friends had encouraged him to stop his public work. “You’ve done enough,” they said, urging him to rest and focus on his health after a near-fatal bout with illness in 2008. “But I could not ignore the cry of conscience,” Chu said.

In a submission to the court in December 2018, Tai referenced the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” in defense of Occupy Central. “Following Dr. King’s steps closely in the path of civil disobedience, we strive to inspire self-sacrificing love and peacefulness but not to incite anger and hatred,” Tai wrote, noting that the protesters’ tactic was to sit on the street, arms locked, and wait for arrest without struggling. “This is a case about some Hong Kong People who love Hong Kong very much and believe that only through the introduction of genuine universal suffrage could a door be opened to resolving the deep-seated conflicts in Hong Kong,” Tai wrote.

At the end of his submission in court, Chu quoted King. He read a Bible verse, Micah 6:8, about justice, mercy and humility. He urged Hong Kong residents to have compassion for protesters and police officers alike, both “victims of unjust systems.” He spoke for all three leaders as he ended his speech: “We have no regrets. We hold no grudges. No anger, no grievances. We do not give up.”

The crowds outside the courtroom stood and clapped as the defendants walked out.

#martin luther king jr.#chu yiu-ming #umbrella movement #hong kong #political freedom #public nuisance #democracy #civil disobedience #la times

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